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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26258035">Steadfast as the Bright Star</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/GossamerComet/pseuds/GossamerComet'>GossamerComet</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>In Space Hangs My Heart [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Mass Effect Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action/Adventure, Enemies to Friends, F/M, Found Family, Rogue!Shepherd, Romance, Unrequited Crush, almost lovers, longfic, semi-novelization, some canon divergence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 03:54:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>28,949</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26258035</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/GossamerComet/pseuds/GossamerComet</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Alejandra Shepherd is many things: talented smuggler, charming rogue, excellent shot - even a decent bodyguard and escort, if the money is right. A highly sought criminal on the Citadel, she is infamous to both the station's underworld and Citadel Security, especially when it comes to one Garrus Vakarian.</p><p>But a hero? Trade her freedom for sacrifice and (maybe) glory? No, thanks.</p><p>However, when her path crosses with that of the <i>SSV Normandy</i>, Aleja is drawn into a conflict much bigger than herself. She must learn to trust the very people who stand against everything she is, because when the fate of the galaxy is at stake, even the most selfish among us must stand up to save everything dear to her.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Female Shepard &amp; Ashley Williams, Female Shepard &amp; Garrus Vakarian, Female Shepard &amp; Liara T'Soni, Female Shepard &amp; Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, Kaidan Alenko/Female Shepard</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>In Space Hangs My Heart [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1907695</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The maintenance catwalks above the Citadel Wards were useful for a number of things. </p><p>The obvious was their intended purpose - nobody came to the station to be reminded that the only things keeping it and the thirteen million-plus onboard from falling out of the black were a few thousand underpaid laborers and the unnerving eternal clatter of the keepers. Their tunnels and the catwalks ensured the masses could maintain a comfortable “out of sight, out of mind” mentality. </p><p>That ability to conceal was its own draw for the Citadel’s more “unsavory” elements. The catwalks were ideal for clandestine meetings or handoffs, and the nooks and crannies offered plenty of safe havens. Sometimes you just needed a nap, and sometimes it wasn’t safe to rent a hotel room for the night because a certain dogged turian had eyes on every establishment on the Citadel, so you made do by half-dozing beneath a tarp in some shadowy corner. </p><p>The catwalks were also the perfect place, Alejandra Shepherd thought, to watch a traitorous piece of shit twist in the wind until he hanged.</p><p>She leaned forward where she sat at the edge of the walk, arms resting on the bottom rail, boots dangling over the side, and watched her “client,” Dolyn Jiris, shift his weight from foot to foot at the edge of the Upper Ward market, his beady eyes scanning the busy floor. Well, she assumed they were. Like all off-world volus, the little jackass’ face was concealed behind the mask of his envirosuit.</p><p>Jiris had insisted she meet him in Zakera Ward, the request itself a red flag. Familiar territory for her, but an embassy employee stood out, making him that much easier for C-Sec to spot in an ambush. A shame, then, that she wouldn’t be making an appearance, and when C-Sec got around to searching Jiris’ correspondence, they’d find no trace of her - just the volus negotiating with an anonymous smuggler for an ungodly amount of Red Sand.</p><p>Aleja heard C-Sec’s arrival before she saw them, the thud of heavy boots announcing their approach. Jiris heard it, too, and his quivering increased, rotund frame practically vibrating along the wall he was plastered against. The flow of foot traffic shifted as passersby scurried out of the path of a small C-Sec squad: five turians, four armed and armored while the fifth simply wore the C-Sec uniform. </p><p>Aleja scanned each of their faces and frowned. All male, bone crests swept back over their heads, faces marked with white colony tattoos - not a single stripe of blue. She was sure Jiris had dropped her name in his pleas for immunity, yet C-Sec sent a bunch of strangers. Disappointing.</p><p>The uniformed officer advanced on Jiris, his entourage forming a semi-circle to keep the crowd at bay. Most pretended not to notice C-Sec’s presence, completing their purchases while sneaking half-glances over their shoulders. A few, recent transplants or tourists, openly gawked. </p><p>From this distance, Aleja couldn’t hear the turian’s words, but the way he kept his mandibles drawn close to his jaw spoke volumes. If he were human, his words would be slipping through clenched teeth. </p><p>Jiris was animated, shaking his head and gesticulating wildly, but the officer wasn’t buying it; rare was the turian who saw the world in shades other than black and white. Made them good soldiers, but easily manipulated ones. He turned and barked something at one of his subordinates, who shifted out of formation and produced a pair of restraints. The uniform snatched them up and gestured for Jiris to present his hands. The volus hesitated, and Aleja could almost see the gears turning in his little rodent brain. Run? A volus moving at anything faster than a brisk trot was laughable. He wouldn’t make it past the uniform, much less the armed officers. Fight? Even more ridiculous. Faced with the only realistic option, Jiris deflated and held his arms out.</p><p>The uniform clamped the restraints around his wrists and pushed Jiris past him to the other officer, who wrapped three strong fingers around the volus’ arm. The uniformed turian spun on his heel and marched back the way he’d come, his armored entourage, Jiris in tow, falling into step behind him.</p><p>Aleja waited until they were out of sight before she pulled her feet in and stood, relieving the tension in her shoulders with a long stretch toward the walk’s ceiling. She swept the area again, expecting to see another officer lurking in a corner of the market, waiting for her to make a move, but still nothing. Plenty of turians moved among the other species in the crowd, mostly white-faced with some red, purple, and even green mixed in, but none with her shadow’s distinctive blue. Hopefully, he hadn’t been reassigned… or maybe she was no longer on his radar. Had he found more engaging prey to chase?</p><p>Aleja shook her head and laughed at the brief insecurity. What could be more enticing than the Citadel’s most notorious smuggler? He’d probably just called her bluff; he knew the other officers would find only Jiris, and what was the point if she wasn’t there? A smug smile curved her lips and she turned away from the railing, heading deeper into the maintenance shaft. “Oh, well.” She needed to report the incident with Jiris sooner rather than later, anyway. “Maybe next time, Vakarian.” The sounds of chatter and public transit faded behind her as she descended, replaced by the soft echo of her boots against the grillwork.</p><hr/><p>Half an hour later, Aleja slipped out of a maintenance duct, sliding the panel back into place behind her, and wiped the grit from her hands on the already grimy wall. The Lower Wards, especially here in Zakera, saw far less care than the more desirable ones, resulting in a populace composed primarily of addicts, homeless, and the criminal element. From the outside, the rest of the galaxy saw the Citadel as a shining beacon of culture and civilization, but like any utopia, the glitz was built on the backs of the less fortunate. </p><p>Down here, harsh neon replaced the soft glow of the Upper Wards’ illumination and the hum from the transit lanes was substituted by dripping pipes and the occasional terrified cry. Where the denizens above were treated to wide vistas full of sparkling lights from the Wards on the Citadel’s other arms and the blue-violet glow from the nebula beyond, the dregs of society had to be content with narrow alleys and dull gray walls. Even the air was more stale, taking on and dulling the surrounding scents into a thick oppressive stench.</p><p>But for all their glaring faults, the Lower Wards promised one thing the more opulent ones could not: freedom. Here, she could move without fear of being noticed or relying on the catwalks to get from place to place. There was an unspoken rule in the Lower Wards: if you see something, say nothing because you could be next. Everyone was out for themselves, disguised by only the thinnest veneer of community, and that suited Aleja perfectly. With a last scrub to get the remainder of filth off her palms, she flicked her braid over her shoulder and headed off down the corridor to her rendezvous.</p><p>Her solitude lasted until she reached the Lower Market, no less bustling for its silence. Buyer and proprietor both were mostly krogan or salarian, with the odd turian, human, and, even less frequently, volus or elcor mixed in. Sales were quiet affairs, a hushed ebb and flow of negotiation tinged with just the barest threat of violence. </p><p>Aleja stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jacket and ducked her head as she crossed the market floor. A few furtive glances followed her, but most avoided eye contact, whether they recognized her or not. If they did, she wasn’t concerned. Her affected walk was as much an advertisement as it was an effort to blend in. A subtle way of saying, “You want it done quick and quiet? Come find me.” Better than a business card in her line of work. Tonight, however, the other patrons kept their distance and she reached her destination uninterrupted, the door sliding open to emit thumping music and the antiseptic scent of alcohol.</p><p>Chora’s Den wasn’t the hottest nightclub on the Citadel - it wasn’t even the most popular in Zakera, an honor reserved for the more reputable Flux in the Upper Ward - but it was easier to keep a low profile here. Patrons avoided each other’s eyes, and the staff didn’t pester customers with unnecessary service. You got what you paid for, and then you tried to pretend everyone else didn’t exist while they did the same to you. The throbbing bass made conversation, and eavesdropping, nearly impossible, the dim lighting was perfect for drug deals and information exchanges, and the drinks weren’t half bad, either. As an added bonus, C-Sec had an “agreement” with the club’s owner, Fist, and barring firearms discharge, their officers avoided the place.</p><p>Well, <em> most </em>of their officers. Aleja spotted Joseph Harkin at his usual table across the club, leering at the asari dancers with a bottle in one hand and several empty tumblers in front of him. She scrunched her nose and skirted the circular bar in the opposite direction. Harkin wouldn’t report her to C-Sec - if he was even back from his latest suspension - but he had a tendency to hit on anything vaguely humanoid and female with a pulse. Safely out of his dwindling field of vision, she slid onto a barstool and waited for the bartender to notice her. He turned her way, and for a second, his professional mask of disinterest slipped. Aleja grinned, propped an elbow on the bar, and leaned her chin into her hand. “Surprised to see me?”</p><p>“Can you blame me?” he asked. “The news just came in about Jiris.” He ignored Aleja when she mimed tipping a glass. “Figured you were in some backroom C-Sec cell with your favorite officer.”</p><p>“Kinky.” She gestured again, and with a complimentary eye-roll, the bartender poured a double of bright blue liquid and slid it across to her. “Thought I merited a little more confidence than that.”</p><p>“You might’ve, except the cargo -”</p><p>“Is waiting safely at the dead drop, along with Jiris’ payment.” Aleja tossed back the shot and grinned as he stared at her, fish-mouthed. “Minus my cut, of course. Fist can come to me if he has a problem with that.”</p><p>“Are you kidding?” He retrieved her glass and filled it again. “He won’t shut up about this for a week. Probably wouldn’t even notice if you took a little extra off the top.”</p><p>She downed the second drink and cupped her hand over the glass before he could pour her another. Drunk and vulnerable in Chora’s Den was never a good combination, no matter how formidable your reputation. “Good, because I did. Call it an insurance fee. I <em> might </em>have met with Jiris if not for one of my contacts. Unfortunately, that means he doesn’t owe me anymore.” The bartender held out his hand and Aleja shifted hers from the glass, allowing him to take it. “What does Fist have for me?”</p><p>“Nothing.” He stalled her snark with a raised hand. “For <em> any </em>freelancers. Fist has something up his ass, and he wants it taken care of in-house. I can hook you up with a friend on Illium or Omega. You know Aria’s always looking for someone to do her dirty work.”</p><p>“I also know she’s a massive pain in the ass and pays below industry standard,” Aleja said. She tugged on the tuft of dark hair at the end of her braid and looked up at him through her lashes. “What’s got Fist’s dick in a twist?”</p><p>“I don’t wanna know.” The bartender cast a quick glance at the far end of the club where a particularly dour krogan stood guard at the mouth of the hallway leading to Fist’s office. He caught her looking at him and his eyes narrowed, the dark yellow color and elliptical pupils incongruous with their wide set. Krogan always reminded her more of crocodiles than their turtle-esque appearance suggested. </p><p>The bartender tapped the top of the bar to draw away her attention. “Personally, I’d get off-station and do some outside jobs for a while. Word is, things might be getting a little rough for humans, even in Citadel space.”</p><p>“Why’s that?”</p><p>He raised an eyebrow. “You haven’t heard the news?”</p><p>Aleja shrugged. “Been a little too busy to check the ‘net.”</p><p>“A human colony was attacked - Eden Prime.”</p><p>Her mirth vanished. “Batarians?”</p><p>The bartender shook his head. “No. Geth.”</p><p>Aleja straightened on her stool, a chill creeping its way down her spine. Eden Prime was admittedly close to the borders of the Attican Traverse, at the edge of Alliance space, but no one had seen the geth this side of the Perseus Veil since they ousted the quarians three centuries ago. “Why?”</p><p>“That’s the thing - nobody knows.” He glanced around, then leaned closer to her. “There was an Alliance vessel on site, at the tail end - some flashy frigate - with a Spectre onboard: Nihlus Kryik. They came back; he didn’t.”</p><p>The implication wasn’t subtle. “You think the Alliance had something to gain from a Spectre’s death?”</p><p>He shrugged. “I think what we think doesn’t matter. How the Council sees it… that’s what I’m worried about.” On the other side of the bar, a lanky turian clacked her empty glass against the counter, her request for another drink coming out in a slurred buzz. The bartender sighed. “Look, while Fist is up his own ass, I have to actually do my job. Let me know if you change your mind about that off-station work.” He turned away to deal with the turian, leaving Aleja alone with a new gnawing curiosity.</p><p>She called up her omni-tool, the holographic interface staining her skin with a deep orange glow, and ran a search for Eden Prime. The extranet kicked back a number of headlines, and her visor, reacting to the unspoken command, snapped across her eyes, the first article flickering to life against the translucent blue HUD. The included images showed carnage across the settlement - buildings damaged from gunfire, white tarps draped over motionless forms, and, unnervingly, tall metallic spikes, some with humanoid corpses still impaled on them, odd circuitry fused with the flesh.</p><p>She skipped around the paragraphs until she reached a passage with the name of the bartender’s mentioned frigate, the <em> SSV Normandy </em> - not a name she recognized. An external link led to an older article detailing the ship’s construction, complete with an image. Aleja expanded it, and a soft intake of breath escaped her. The back half of the <em> Normandy </em>was predictably shaped - wide and boxy to accommodate the drive-core - but its build narrowed toward the bow, tapering off into a slender nose. The overall shape was somewhat triangular and evoked a raptor mid-dive - fitting for a turian design. Her surprise came not from the ship’s appearance, but rather that someone, somehow, had managed to get a group of human and turian engineers together in a room long enough to design the thing. The article labeled it a stealth ship, but the bartender had been right to call it flashy - its sleek shape hinted at equal amounts of grace and power.</p><p>A flicker of movement at the far end of the club caught her eye and she banished the <em> Normandy </em>from her HUD. The yellow-eyed krogan was no longer alone - two more of his kind, a sour-faced human woman, and a turian with a twisted mandible had joined him. One of the new krogan, a large fellow with dark green plates and heavily scarred hump, spoke, but the Den’s bass drowned out everything but the deep rumble of his voice. </p><p>Fortunately, he appeared to be reading from his omni-tool, and Aleja ghosted a hand over her own, isolating and mirroring his signal with a few keystrokes. A pricey mod and highly illegal in most core systems, but invaluable in her business. His file materialized on the right side of her HUD and she skimmed through it. A brief note from Fist’s personal address, the missive directed the five to collect a quarian from the Upper Ward medical clinic, and judging from the liberal caps lock scattered throughout, Fist wanted it done yesterday. Maybe even bad enough to pay a healthy finder’s fee.</p><p>The file vanished from her visor, its signal interrupted, and Aleja glanced over at the group. The green krogan gestured toward the club’s exit, his raised arm giving her a good view of the shotgun strapped across his back. So the direct approach was out, but she preferred it that way. She just needed to give herself a head start… </p><p>“Been a few minutes, <em> señorita </em>.” Harkin slid onto the barstool next to her, ignoring her sharp sideways look. His pronunciation was almost as foul as his breath, even without the slurring. Her visor disintegrated in a shower of cerulean sparks and her omni-tool went dark, but he didn’t notice. “Was sure Vakarian finally nabbed you after I got suspended.” He took a swig from his beer, half of it sloshing down his chin as he pulled the bottle back. “What’s it gonna take to let me chase you instead of that jumped up cock?” Harkin laughed at his own joke. “No offense, doll, but I don’t think you’re his type.” He reached a clumsy hand toward her face, but Aleja leaned back on her stool and his fingers closed on empty air. A sneer twisted his mouth, and he drew his hand back to wipe the dribbled beer from his face. “But what do I know? Maybe fucking a bird’s your fetish - think I should give him a call?” He set the bottle down and reached for his omni-tool, but Aleja caught his wrist.</p><p>“That’s not necessary.” She released his hand before he could jerk it away and forced a smile. “You know me, Harkin - I don’t like to be surprised, that’s all.” She lowered her head and fluttered her lashes a few times. “Buy me a drink to apologize?” He stared at her, blurry-eyed, then flashed a yellowing grin. While he struggled to catch the bartender’s attention, Aleja glanced around, evaluating escape routes, before her gaze settled on Fist’s thugs again. A plan began to form, and she silently willed the group to be on their way.</p><p> As if from her mind to his ears, the green-plated krogan gestured for the others to follow and started toward the club’s exit. With the toe of her boot, Aleja swiveled Harkin’s stool so he faced her again. “Maybe you’re right. Vakarian’s starting to become predictable - a change could be just what I need.” She pressed a hand against his chest. “There’s just one little thing I’d like you to do for me.”</p><p>His drunken smirk widened. “You just name it, princess.”</p><p>“Eat. Shit.” Aleja shoved hard and Harkin fell backward, arms flailing for purchase. He collided with the leader of Fist’s goons and sent them both tumbling into an occupied booth. The asari table dancer scrambled clear as her turian customers lunged to their feet, their anger cutting through the nightclub’s clamour. Heads started to turn and other patrons rose from tables and stools, adding their own voices to the din, while Harkin struggled to extricate himself and spat curses in Aleja’s direction. </p><p>But she was already gone, slipping out of the club before he’d even hit the floor. She grinned as the door slid closed behind her, cutting off the noise and music, and tucked her hands into her jacket pockets. “Too easy.” With a low chuckle, she started back toward the maintenance panel and tried to work out exactly how much she could squeeze Fist for his quarian.</p><hr/><p>Night had fully descended by the time she returned to the Upper Ward - as much as it ever did on the Citadel. Space-born herself, the station’s odd twenty-hour cycle never really bothered Aleja; she just wished the keepers would program it with an even split instead of leaving her only six hours a day to work. The illumination had dimmed, but only enough to lengthen the shadows, and while the market crowd had noticeably thinned, every shop was still open. Aleja slipped easily into the tide and let the current direct her path.</p><p> Hands in her pockets, head down, hood pulled low over her face, she drifted between the press of bodies, shifting past the silvery carapace of a turian on her left and the train of corkscrew curls from a human on her right. Volus, their rotund forms only reaching her waist, trundled through the crowd, and on the far side of the market, two elcor conversed in rumbling tones, the inscrutable cues of their uninflected language passing over the heads of other species. Nearby, an asari and salarian couple strolled between the stalls, both reflected in the coloring of the toddler between them. </p><p>The tangle of limbs and torsos, both like and impossibly different from her own, was soothing in its own way - crowds had always put her at ease. Hell, even the Alliance boarding schools her parents shipped her off to had been comforting, despite the homogeneity. But here, with the velvet blanket of space almost close enough to touch, surrounded by familiar words spoken in alien voices, she felt more at home than on any planet, on any ship.</p><p>The crowd deposited her on the far side of the market and she continued on alone, save for the small groups of two and three scattered along the Upper Ward corridors. A group of young humans loitered near the entrance of Flux and snuck covetous glances at three of Sha’ira’s asari acolytes as they passed, on their way to the Consort’s office for the night shift. One of the teens said something in Arabic, his voice too low for her translator to catch, but the others only jeered and pushed him good-naturedly, and he scowled and shoved his hands into his pockets. Aleja continued past them before he responded, but a smile tugged at her mouth. Poor thing was a distorted reflection of herself at that age. Perhaps there was some competition in her future.</p><p>Her grin faded as she approached the clinic, wariness settling heavy on her shoulders. The small building was inset into the Ward’s structure at an odd angle, protruding from it like a distended stomach, and situated uncomfortably close to the Upper Ward’s elevator to C-Sec’s offices. She spotted a pair of officers further down the corridor - both human, their accents marking them Terra Novan - but they seemed more interested in their conversation than their patrolling. Satisfied neither would turn to see her, Aleja sidled up to the clinic door and passed her hand in front of the sensor. </p><p>It didn’t open. She frowned and repeated the motion, but the door still refused to budge. Casting the officers a quick glance, she engaged her omni-tool, visor sliding across her face again, and scanned the clinic’s sensor. After a few seconds, the verdict scrolled across her HUD: locked from the inside. Someone was being cautious - for all the good it would do them. Aleja’s fingers danced over her omni-tool’s holographic keyboard, the sensor’s code flickering across her visor. Within a minute, she had its programming laid bare in front of her. From there, it was easy to convince the sensor it was mistaken, and it politely opened the clinic to admit her.</p><p>Aleja slipped through the narrow gap and slid the door shut behind her. She slid her hood back and reached beneath her jacket to pull the Kessler from its holster at the small of her back. The pistol was a small thing, bought fifth-hand from the Lower Ward market when she first arrived on the Citadel, barrel and grip battered from years of use, but she’d spent more credits than she cared to count keeping it in working condition. She gave the gun a light squeeze, the scars on the grip imprinting temporary reflections on her palm, and swept the lobby. The small room was deserted, but she heard hushed voices further in, two blurry heat signatures appearing on the left side of her HUD. Aleja crept forward, boots silent against the alloyed floor, and turned the corner, raising the Kessler in one smooth, practiced motion.</p><p>The two women on the far side of the office froze. The nearest to Aleja - human, a few years her junior, dressed in a basic medical uniform of red and white - lifted her hands, but the defiance in her eyes hinted at something less than compliance. Her companion, Fist’s marked quarian, didn’t move at all, the opaque screen of her envirosuit’s helmet betraying nothing.</p><p>Aleja grinned at the doctor and offered her a one-shoulder shrug. “Door was open.”</p><p>Her glare remained icy. “Who are you?” A heavy accent colored her words, and Aleja’s visor cycled for a few seconds before her translator came up with an identification: Quebecois. “What do you want?”</p><p>“I’m just the delivery girl.” Aleja shifted her gaze to the quarian. “On your feet. We’ve got places to be.”</p><p>“You can’t!” The doctor took a step, but halted again when Aleja tightened her grip on the Kessler. “She’s injured and sick. You could kill her. Quarian immune syst- ”</p><p>“Took non-human biologies, thanks,” Aleja interrupted. She gestured for the quarian to stand. “I just need her to make it to the shuttles. After that, I’ll carry her if I have to.”</p><p>“Did the Shadow Broker send you?” The quarian’s voice was youthful and tinny through her helmet’s speakers, but it didn’t waver. She stood, one three-fingered hand held protectively against her right side. A hasty patch, the material several shades lighter than her suit’s, peeked through her fingers. The doctor stepped toward her, then hurried to her side when Aleja didn’t react. “Has something happened to my contact?”</p><p>Aleja frowned and scanned her helmet until she located the dim glow of the quarian’s luminescent eyes through the cloudy glass. “Run that by me again?”</p><p>“Are you taking me to the Shadow Broker?”</p><p>“No.” Aleja shook her head, and the first tendril of unease began to coil in her stomach. “Fist is looking for you. I’m just a gofer.”</p><p>There was a long pause as the quarian’s translator tried to parse the human slang. “Fist is the one who set up the meeting. He’s already contacted the Shadow Broker - what does he still need me for?”</p><p>Aleja’s stomach turned as a second curl of anxiety joined the first. “<em> Fist </em>put you in contact with the Shadow Broker?”</p><p>The speech indicator at the “mouth” of the quarian’s helmet flickered in time with her words. “Is there more than one criminal named Fist on the Citadel?” Her sarcasm came through crystal clear.</p><p>“Hell,” Aleja sighed and lowered the Kessler. Betrayal seemed the flavor of the day, even if it wasn't direct this time. She slid the pistol under her jacket again, ignoring their confusion. “Where are you supposed to meet your contact?”</p><p>“The Lower Ward - an access corridor just outside the market - in an hour,” the quarian said. The doctor started to help her sit back down, but Aleja stopped her with a gesture. “What’s going on?”</p><p>“Fist is an idiot, that’s what. He’s got a group of mercs on their way here to bring you to him.” Aleja called up Zakera’s transit reports from her omni-tool. The shuttles were the fastest way to get around the Citadel, but on a station that never slept, traffic was a constant inconvenience. Blessedly, the lanes looked fairly clear. Perhaps her luck still held. “We should go. If we beat them to the shuttles, we can lose them in another Ward.”</p><p>“You said you were taking her to Fist.” The doctor drew herself up, a protective hand on her patient’s arm. “Didn’t he send you, too?”</p><p>“Freelancer,” Aleja said, pointing to herself, “and a filthy opportunist, so, no, he doesn’t know I’m here. Now, let’s go. That means you, too, Dr...”</p><p>“Michel, Chloe Michel, and I’m not leaving my clinic.”</p><p>Aleja squinted at her. “I don’t know how much experience you’ve had with mercenaries, but they don’t tend to leave witnesses. You stay here, you’ll die. If you’re lucky, <em> before </em> they start torturing you.”</p><p>“My patients need this place.” Dr. Michel looked around the small clinic, desperation mixed with pride in her gaze. “I can’t let anything happen to it.” Her face hardened. “And I won’t abandon it.”</p><p>“Pretty sure your patients need you, too, Doc.” Aleja’s voice was soft, moved by the devotion she saw in the other woman. It was something she could respect, even if she didn’t fully understand it. Her father had often worn the same look when he’d come home on leave, a faraway glint in his eye as he regaled her with his latest adventures. </p><p>As always when it came to thoughts of her father, anger and grief, knife-sharp, cut through the nostalgia, and Aleja pushed away the memories.</p><p>Dr. Michel shook her head. “I can’t leave. If something happened… this is all…” She trailed off, eyes suddenly wet. The quarian reached up to squeeze her hand, and Michel nodded her thanks.</p><p>“<em> Dios mío </em>,” Aleja groaned. A headache threatened to form behind her eyes. Of all the jobs, she had to stick her nose in the most complicated. She reached for her omni-tool, the accelerometers beneath her skin simulating haptic feedback, as if the keys had true weight and substance under her fingers. The call connected, a brief tone ringing in her visor’s earpiece before it clicked through on the other end.</p><p>“Citadel Security.” Unsurprisingly, the officer who answered was turian, the dual overlapping tones of his voice as clear as if he stood next to her. “State the nature of your emergency.”</p><p>“I want to report a criminal sighting.” Aleja glanced at the clock in the bottom left-hand corner of her HUD. She couldn’t afford to waste much more time - the head start bought with her stunt in Chora’s Den was long used up. “Zakera Upper Ward clinic. Positive identification for Alejandra Shepherd. Tell Vakarian he’ll need to move fast if he wants to catch her.”</p><p>The turian’s voice was flustered once he found it. “Ma’am, I need to know who I’m speaking with - I need your name.”</p><p>Aleja hesitated, but the temptation for drama was too strong. “<em> Cariño </em>, I just gave it to you.” She terminated the call, visor fading with it, and looked up to find Michel and the quarian watching her closely. She waved to the latter. “Let’s get moving.”</p><p>The light of the quarian’s eyes narrowed behind her helmet. “And if I refuse?”</p><p>The corner of Aleja’s mouth curled in a sneer. “Sure, give them what they want. I’m sure they’ll just take you and let the doc live.” The quarian’s eyes widened and she glanced sideways at Dr. Michel. “If you want to lose Fist and get to your contact, I can do that, but we have to go <em> now </em>.” She turned her attention to Michel. “Lock the door behind us, bar it if you can - whatever you can do to buy C-Sec time to get here. The officer they’ll send is good; he’ll keep you safe.”</p><p>The fear didn’t leave Michel’s face, but some amusement colored her words when she spoke. “<em> You </em>trust a C-Sec officer?”</p><p>“Enough to not let him catch me,” Aleja said, grinning. She approached slowly and held a hand out to the quarian. “What’s it gonna be?”</p><p>The quarian hesitated, but she reached out and took Aleja’s hand, squeezing once. Michel gripped the quarian’s arm, and then let her go. When her eyes met Aleja’s, they were steely once more. “Whatever your reasons, take care of her.”</p><p>The accusation wasn’t unfounded, but it still rankled, though Aleja couldn't quite put her finger on why. She settled for a curt nod and gestured for the quarian to lead the way out of the clinic. Once they were through the door, it shut behind them, a sharp snap that echoed along the corridor. Aleja glanced around, but the C-Sec patrol was no longer in sight. She doubted they’d been notified of her call - Vakarian wouldn’t stand for any one else bringing her in - but their disappearance still made her uneasy, and she pulled her hood back over her head. Aleja started off down the corridor without a backward glance, and after a moment, the quarian followed, steps quick to shorten the gap between them.</p><p>They passed through the market in silence, drawing eyes as they went. Aleja, even with her drawn hood, was not entirely out of place - a quarian, however, was a rare sight outside of the Flotilla, much less on the Citadel. A pair of turians shifted to give her a wide berth. Aleja grimaced. The nomadic nature of quarians gave rise to more than a few harmful stereotypes, but none so prevalent as the idea that lone individuals were notorious pickpockets. Aleja dropped back to walk alongside the quarian, positioning herself as a buffer between the girl and the crowd. Neither of them could afford a confrontation.</p><p>Fortunately, it seemed the crowd was content to let them pass so long as they kept walking, and they reached the transit terminal on the other side unmolested. Aleja called for a shuttle, using another expensive mod to bypass the credit check, and selected Kithoi Ward as their destination. No doubt they’d stand out in the crowd there, but Aleja planned to be gone long before anyone called C-Sec. The shuttle - a slim two-door model painted the Citadel-standard asari blue - glided soundlessly up to the platform, and the two women climbed in, Aleja in the pilot’s seat, the quarian in the back. The shuttle’s virtual intelligence offered to give Aleja control, but she declined - crashes were less likely with the VI at the helm. With a gentle wobble as it pushed away from the platform, the shuttle slid smoothly into a gap in the transit lanes, the VI declaring they would reach their destination in just under half an hour.</p><p>“Thank you, for what you did back there,” the quarian said. She leaned forward, elbows balanced on her knees. “For Dr. Michel, I mean.”</p><p>“Wrong place, wrong time.” Aleja made a gesture of nonchalance. “I just don’t need that on my conscience.”</p><p>“... It’s Alejandra, right?”</p><p>“Only if you’re my mother, or I’m under arrest.” Aleja suppressed a laugh as the quarian stared at her for a long moment. “It’s Aleja.”</p><p>“Aleja,” the quarian repeated slowly, as though testing the sound of it on her tongue. “I’m Tali’Zorah nar Rayya, but everyone calls me Tali.”</p><p>“A pleasure, Tali.” Aleja stuck a hand over the back of the seat, and Tali gave it a hesitant shake. “Wish it was under better circumstances.”</p><p>Tali murmured agreement. “What about me? Why aren’t you taking me to Fist?”</p><p>Aleja snorted. “Because if Fist is dumb enough to cross the Shadow Broker, I’d rather not be on the losing side.” She shrugged and leaned back in her chair. “Besides, a favor from the Shadow Broker is worth more than Fist can afford.”</p><p>There was a long pause from Tali, and when she spoke again, her voice was hard. “You’re just doing this so the Shadow Broker will owe you?”</p><p>“Fresh off the Flotilla, huh.” Aleja craned her neck and met Tali’s glare. “You’re a long way from home, kid - there’s no ‘for the greater good’ out here.”</p><p>“Don’t patronize me,” Tali spat. “I understand greed just fine.” She crossed her arms and settled back against the seat, faceplate turned away.</p><p>Aleja rolled her eyes and faced forward again. Better the girl learn her lesson now, when she had someone to protect her. Aleja tilted her head, looking up through the shuttle’s translucent roof. The Citadel’s arms stretched out above them, alight with points of life in the other Wards. The station was shaped vaguely like a lotus in early bloom, with a central ring that held the five arms together. The structure was beautiful in both form and function, and even the asari, with their long-lived worldliness, barely understood how it worked, or even how it was built. It was an odd feeling, knowing that as you were looking up at someone on the arm opposite you, they were technically doing the same.</p><p>From here, Aleja could see Widow, the large star the system was named for, in the distance, its surface roiling with flares. The shuttle’s tinting kept looking directly at the star just this side of uncomfortable, but she glanced away before an after-image burned itself onto her vision. There was something that had always struck her as incredibly lonely about Widow - maybe it was the lack of other stars or planets in the system. Nothing but the Citadel, something so alien from itself that the star might as well be completely alone. Or maybe she was just projecting.</p><p>Tali sighed heavily behind her, a staticky rush of noise from her helmet’s mouthpiece, and Aleja winced. Comparing the quarian to the star was fanciful - maybe Tali wanted to be alone. That was the point of a Pilgrimage, wasn’t it? Young quarians out on their own in the galaxy, unmoored from the safety of the Flotilla for the first time in their lives, until they found a suitable reason to return. She’d met a few, though never any quite as mouthy. Tali sighed again, and Aleja gritted her teeth. Half an hour of this would be torture. She glanced back at the quarian. “So, what’s your story, kid? How did you end up in the clinic?”</p><p>“My name is Tali.” She was silent for a long moment, so long Aleja was sure the conversation was already over, but the helmet’s speech indicator flickered again. “I found… something, I’m not sure what, but I know it’s important. A turian chased the ship I was travelling on - he killed the entire crew.” Her voice was quiet, but steady. “The captain and I escaped, made it to the Citadel, but he followed. He killed her and tried to kill me.”</p><p>“I’m sorry about your friend. Where’s this turian now?”</p><p>“He’s dead,” Tali said flatly, meeting Aleja’s gaze. The light from her eyes intensified. “I managed to get to the clinic, and Dr. Michel patched me up and put me in contact with Fist. I met him in that nightclub, and he told me he works for the Shadow Broker.”</p><p>Aleja made a face. “‘Worked’ might be more applicable at this point. Apparently someone made a better offer.”</p><p>Tali leaned forward, helmet in her hands. “I shouldn’t have gone back to the clinic, but Dr. Michel contacted me. She wanted to make sure I was healing alright, and she was just so nice, after everything I’d been through…” The lights behind her faceplate winked out. “It’s my fault she’s in danger now.”</p><p>“You really think things would be different if you hadn’t gone?” Aleja asked. She waited until Tali looked up and met her eyes. “Fist would have sent his people after her regardless; he doesn’t like loose ends.” She broke the gaze and settled back in her chair, turning to watch the other shuttles keeping pace with theirs. “Don’t borrow trouble, ki - Tali. Too many people are happy to give it to you.”</p><p>“What about you? Would he have sent you after Dr. Michel?”</p><p>Aleja shook her head. “I don’t do that.” Her hands weren’t clean, but killing someone for money? There was something… sickening in that, in reducing another person’s life to a number, to the bits of ones and zeroes that functioned as currency. Better, and wealthier, men than Fist had tried, but there were some lines even she wouldn’t cross. “The doc’ll be fine. Vakarian won’t let anything happen to her.”</p><p>Tali leaned forward, tried to catch her eye. “That’s the officer you mentioned? Why are you sure C-Sec will send him?”</p><p>Aleja didn’t turn, but Tali caught her grin in the reflection from the shuttle’s window. “When a man chases you for five years, it’s a pretty good bet he’s dead-set on catching you. He’ll show, whether C-Sec sends him or not.” She glanced back at the quarian. “He’s good at his job, Tali. He’ll make sure she’s alright.”</p><p>Apparently satisfied with that, Tali sat back in her seat again. “Why would Fist double-cross the Shadow Broker?”</p><p>“Good question,” Aleja said. A C-Sec cruiser passed overhead, and she tensed, but it continued past without pause. “Either someone has very deep pockets, or there’s something out there that scares Fist more than the Shadow Broker.” She rubbed her thumb against the inside of her wrist, the old soothing gesture automatic. Fist was small-time outside of the Citadel, but in all the years she’d known him, he hadn’t been scared of much. That someone, something, could spook him made her uneasy. “Best not to worry about it. The galaxy will sort itself out.”</p><p>They lapsed into a strained silence, Aleja staring out at the traffic, Tali’s gaze fixed on her knees. When she spoke again, her voice was small. “I’ve always wanted to see the Citadel. When I was little, I kept wishing the Flotilla would fly by, even for a moment, so I could look out at it.”</p><p>“You should probably throw out that monkey’s paw,” Aleja said dryly.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Nothing.” Aleja dismissed the statement with a wave. “Humanism. Means things don’t always work out the way we want.” She glanced back at Tali. “After this is over, you should come back, do a proper tour. This place isn’t all bad.”</p><p>Tali snorted, the sound distorted by her helmet’s speakers. “Are you offering to show me around?”</p><p>Aleja chuckled. “Not unless you want more of the same, child of the <em> Rayya. </em>”</p><p>The twin points of light bloomed behind Tali’s faceplate. “Do people often tell you you’re full of surprises?”</p><p>“Mostly people tell me what they want from me, or to stop and put my hands up.” Aleja turned back around. “Enjoy the view, Tali. Probably gonna be your last chance for a while.”</p><p>The quarian accepted the end of the conversation and turned to her window. Though Aleja couldn’t see her face, she could imagine Tali’s wonder, the awe at the Citadel’s impossible structure. She’d worn a similar look when she’d first arrived, had first encountered crowds of alien species instead of the handful she’d encountered before. Sometimes she missed that feeling, but she was wiser now, and maybe that was an acceptable trade-off.</p><p>Reflection made her uncomfortable, so Aleja pushed the thoughts aside and settled further into her seat, closing her eyes. There was time for a quick nap before they reached Kithoi Ward, and she suspected she would need the respite.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Little less than an hour later, Aleja wound her way through the Zakera Lower Ward corridors, Tali close on her heels. The journey back from Kithoi had been as uneventful as the trip there, which only made her more uneasy. The C-Sec scanner running on one side of her HUD made no mention of an officer dispatched to the clinic. Possibly intentional, but she kept it to herself anyway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tali tapped her shoulder. “Are you sure we’re headed the right way?” Aleja’s response was a flat stare, and the quarian gave a sheepish shrug. “Everything looks the same down here. It feels like we’re going in circles.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That wasn’t far from the truth. The quickest way to Tali’s particular access corridor was back through the Lower Market, but that put them too close to Chora’s Den for Aleja’s liking. The back alleys were safer, even if they took longer. “We’re almost there,” she said, turning away. “Just stay close.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A clattering came from the shadows ahead, and Aleja flattened against the wall, motioning Tali after her. She reached beneath her jacket, fingers wrapping around the Kessler’s grip, but relaxed as a keeper trundled into view. It shifted down the corridor on four segmented legs, large insectoid eyes fixed on the opposite end of the hall. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tali stared at the keeper as it passed. “I didn’t think you could get this close to keepers. They look even weirder in person.” She reached for the silver protrusion on the keeper’s back, but Aleja caught her arm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t touch,” Aleja warned. She released Tali and motioned for her to skirt the shuffling keeper. “They have a tendency to, ah, melt when they feel threatened.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I only wanted to inspect it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Their definition of ‘threat’ is impressively broad. Saw one implode after a krogan walked too close to it.” Aleja rounded the corner and lowered her hood. “We’re here. Don’t see your contact, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tali stepped around her and into the corridor proper. “He should be here.” She walked further in, Aleja slowly following. “I don’t understand.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aleja glanced up at the corner of her HUD, activating the ocular controls. She blinked steadily, each flicker of her eyes toggling a different spectrum. When it reached ultraviolet, a smattering of faint heat signatures registered on the floor ahead of Tali. She caught the quarian’s arm and pulled her to a stop, taking the lead as she approached the dim blobs. Her visor flickered away as she knelt and brushed one with a fingertip. It was liquid, partially dried, and some stuck to her finger. Aleja pulled her hand back, a smudge of green against her doe-brown skin. The faint scent of ash wafted up. “Shit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tali crouched beside her. “What’s- ”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shepherd!” Aleja bolted to her feet, Tali mirroring her. The green-plated krogan stood at the other end of the corridor, shotgun in hand. The rest of the mercenaries fanned out around him. The turian with the twisted mandible was closest, a long assault rifle leveled at Aleja’s chest. The krogan grinned, teeth like tombstones in his reptilian maw. “Fist was right about you. Cute stunt back at the club, by the way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What can I say?” Aleja asked. She shrugged, mouth twisting in a lopsided smirk. “I was bored.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why did Fist send you after me?” Tali tried to push past Aleja, but she stayed the quarian with a hand. “Why would he want to betray the Shadow Broker?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The green krogan shook his head. “I don’t get paid to ask questions. Mostly, I couldn’t give a pyjak’s ass.” He waved the shotgun at Aleja. “Hand over the girl.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aleja shifted herself further between Tali and the mercs, hiding the arm stretched out behind her. “Or?” she asked, the word stretched out in sing-song. Her second and third fingers brushed across her palm, priming her omni-tool.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Or my friend blows a hole in your chest cavity,” the krogan growled. “Fist likes you, Shepherd - you do good work - but you’re replaceable. No shortage of smugglers waiting to take your jobs.” He shrugged and lowered his shotgun. “But it doesn’t have to be that way. Give us the quarian, and this -” The krogan gestured at the other mercs - “never happened. Might even be able to get Fist to slip you a finder’s fee - a </span>
  <em>
    <span>generous</span>
  </em>
  <span> one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tempting,” Aleja said. She tilted her head as if considering, the fingers of her obscured hand balling into a fist. “Care to hear my counter-offer?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before he could respond, she twisted, swinging her arm forward in an arc, hand flying open. A plasma round, fire-red, blasted from her omni-tool and struck the turian dead center. His shield held against the flames, but the impact threw him back into the others, the assault rifle clattering to the ground. Aleja spun and pushed Tali into a small recess in the corridor wall. She stumbled after the quarian as the mercs opened fire, dropping to her knees for cover. Twisting to put her back against the wall, Aleja came face to face with a salarian corpse, a mass of dark-green blood half-dried beneath him. His wide dark eyes stared up at her, unseeing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ugh, come on!” Aleja pushed herself away from the body and collided with Tali’s legs. “Found your contact.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Keelah</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Tali breathed, her eyes bright behind the faceplate. She flinched as several rounds struck the wall close to her. “Does he still have a weapon?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aleja nudged the body with her boot, and the salarian’s jacket fell open to reveal a pistol at his waist. A Striker - not surprising that an employee of the Shadow Broker would use weapons from a company marketed toward mercenaries. She fished it free and handed it up to Tali. “You know how to use this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tali snatched it from her, checked the safety, and leaned around the corner to fire a short burst. A sharp cry marked at least a hit on the human woman among the mercs. Tali flattened herself back against the wall as another spray of gunfire hammered the corridor. Aleja raised her eyebrows, impressed, and knelt at Tali’s feet. She pulled her Kessler free, visor activating, and leaned around Tali. The human merc was on her back behind one of the krogan, motionless - impossible to tell if she was dead or just incapacitated. Another krogan had taken cover, while their green leader and the turian remained in the open.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aleja reached for her omni-tool again. A powerful electrical pulse cracked out from her arm and slammed into the turian’s shield. As soon as she saw the tell-tale shimmer fade, she fired three quick bursts. Every shot hit its mark, embedding chunks of palladium into the turian’s armor and carapace. A spray of blue fountained into the air, and his rifle fell to the floor again. This time, it remained there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The green krogan roared, the sound bouncing painfully around the corridor. Still firing the shotgun, he advanced, Fist’s yellow-eyed bouncer rising from cover to follow. The other krogan remained half-hidden at the end of the corridor. Their combined gunfire forced Aleja to scuttle back into cover. A warning light flickered in the corner of her HUD. Any more hits and her shields would give.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tali leaned out to fire again, but another blast from the lead merc’s shotgun drove her back before she could get off a shot. She looked down at Aleja, eyes blazing. “Here!” She thrust her arm out, her own omni-tool glowing around it. “I can’t risk losing this. Take the data and go! Get it to the Shadow Broker!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aleja stared at Tali’s arm through the transparent orange hologram. It would be terribly easy to put her hand over the quarian’s and activate her omni-tool, the proffered data downloaded within seconds. It was important enough for the Shadow Broker to send an escort; the reward for delivering the data safely must be just as precious. She could take the data, leave Tali to distract the remaining mercenaries. It was the smart thing to do, the easy thing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fortunately for the girl, Aleja had a habit of going against both of those.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And what happens to me when I show up with your data?” She pushed Tali’s arm away. “You think the Shadow Broker will believe I didn’t kill you for it? I need the data </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>you for this to be worth anything.” It was an easy lie - there was, after all, some truth to it. “So shut up, and keep shooting.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taking her own advice, Aleja leaned out and fired on the yellow-eyed krogan, his shields cracking under the volley. Most of the rounds deflected off his armor and hump, but one grazed the thin skin beneath an eye, leaving an orange trail in its wake. The krogan shrieked and fell back, hand to his face, and Aleja threw herself back around the corner. She’d hurt him for a moment, but once he realized his eye was uninjured, the pain would only piss him off. If he went into blood rage… Aleja squeezed the Kessler’s grip and swallowed hard. She couldn’t afford to miss a second time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A shot rang out, the sound dull with the power of it. One of the krogan screamed, fear and pain driving the sound to a grating pitch before a second heavy round silenced it. New heat signatures began to crowd across Aleja’s HUD - four in total. A voice rang out, the overlapping tones startlingly familiar: “Scratch one!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Debe ser una broma</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Aleja half-laughed the words, relief and bemusement in each syllable. Tali glanced down at her, head tipped to the side, but Aleja waved her off. She peeked out again. Both krogan had turned to fire on the new threat. The third was still at the mouth of the corridor, on his side now. His upper half was hidden by the wall, a thick pool of orange spreading beneath him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Two of the newcomers drew the krogan’s fire - both human, one male, one female. They took cover in their own alcoves on opposite sides of the corridor. The man was a biotic - a thin barrier of roiling blue energy spread outward from him, warping his surroundings. His partner was armed to the teeth, sporting a handgun and shotgun in addition to the assault rifle she wielded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Between them was the largest krogan Aleja had ever seen. Red in eye and plate, leathery skin criss-crossed with scars, he stood in the center of the corridor, shotgun blasting, heedless of the spray of bullets from his kin. Blue energy enveloped him, too - a battlemaster. He roared, a thunderous sound in the enclosed space.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The dull thud of another heavy shot came from the end of the corridor, and the yellow-eyed krogan staggered, the impact shattering his reconstituted shields. Aleja had to squint past the battlemaster’s barrier to see the source. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kneeling at the mouth of the hall, sniper rifle pressed to his shoulder, was a turian in C-Sec blue armor. A visor, more permanent than Aleja’s, covered part of his face, but she could just see the blue colony tattoo under it, stretching from beneath his eye to meet its duplicate over the bridge of his nose. Her shadow - Garrus Vakarian. His presence sent an almost Pavlovian response through her. She wanted to run, to race back through the Lower Ward... but only if he gave chase.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s going on?!” Tali’s voice grounded Aleja, and she glanced up at the quarian. “What’s happening out there?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Looks like my luck has finally run out,” Aleja said. She stood and flashed Tali a grin. “For you, that’s a good thing. Can I borrow this?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Without waiting for an answer, she took the Striker from Tali and leaned back out to fire both weapons at the yellow-eyed krogan’s back. Without the protection of his shields, the rounds slammed into the thinner armor and hide at the back of the krogan’s legs. He bellowed and fell forward, knees crunching against the floor under his weight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The battlemaster wasted no time. He threw out an arm, biotic energy coalescing around his fist. An answering glow surrounded the downed krogan, and, like a yo-yo, he flew up into the ceiling, leaving a massive crater before he plummeted back to the floor. A sharp snap echoed through the corridor. The yellow-eyed krogan didn’t get back up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The lead merc ignored his fallen comrade, too focused on the battlemaster. Aleja used the distraction to fire another plasma round from her omni-tool. It struck the krogan near the top of his hump, and he stumbled to the side, off balance, before turning to unload another shotgun blast in her direction. She scuttled back behind the wall, her visor flashing another warning that her shields were damaged.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Above the din of gunfire, Aleja heard the human man calling out to the others, his words lost to her in the cacophony. On her HUD, his heat signature moved forward down the corridor, the woman’s mirroring it. The battlemaster advanced in front of them, his bulk and biotics forming a living shield against the green krogan’s fire.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At the far end of the corridor, Vakarian’s silhouette shifted slightly, head tilting to the side as he took aim. His rifle thundered again, and the corridor fell silent. The air was thick with the stench of scorched carbon and rock salt, and Aleja could hear her pulse in her ears.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is it over?” Tali’s whisper was a rush of static.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aleja peeked around the alcove’s corner. The rifle cracked again, a round slamming into the wall just above her head. Aleja flinched, and Tali pulled her back behind cover by the shoulders.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stand down, Vakarian!” The human man, his voice sharp but controlled. Aleja recognized the tone - her parents had used it often when she misbehaved as a child. Like them, he was used to having his orders followed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Relax.” Vakarian’s drawl sent shivers down Aleja’s spine. The urge to run, to force him to give chase surged in her gut, but Tali’s grip on her shoulders kept her still. “Just a warning shot.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That C-Sec protocol?” the woman asked. Beneath the sarcasm was another, darker insinuation. “Or just… yours?” Vakarian, to his credit, didn’t take the bait.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Enough, Williams.” On Aleja’s HUD, their leader’s outline took a few steps toward the alcove, his weapon lowered but not holstered. “I’m Commander Kaidan Alenko, with the Alliance. We don’t mean you any harm, but I need you to disarm and come out slowly.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tali’s fingers tightened on Aleja’s shoulders. She glanced down the corridor, back the way they’d come, and then met Aleja’s eyes, the implication hanging between them. Aleja knew the alleys and thoroughfares better than anyone present - she could flee into the twisting warrens of the Lower Ward, perhaps run through the more populated areas to further lose her pursuers, and escape in the darkness. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And had the officer at the end of the hall been anyone other than Vakarian, Aleja would’ve taken the risk. Of course, he wouldn’t shoot to kill - Vakarian might push the boundaries of C-Sec protocols, but he’d never break them - but the idea of a shattered knee or shoulder on top of spending time in a C-Sec cell wasn’t exactly appealing. At this point, there was only one move left in their game.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aleja engaged the safeties on both weapons and knelt, sliding them across the hall where they came to rest against the opposite wall with a soft clatter. She stepped out, arms held out at her sides, palms up, and Tali followed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The alley was awash with carnage, and the pungent rock salt-scent of krogan blood flooded the corridor. Aleja swallowed the urge to gag. The merc leader and Fist’s bouncer lay parallel to each other in the center of the corridor, the latter face down. Aleja stepped gingerly between them, averting her gaze from the green-plated krogan’s open eyes and the small singed hole between them. Their deaths weren’t regrettable, but she didn’t need another death mask haunting her nightmares.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her gaze settled on the commander and she halted, face hardening. Objectively attractive but not disgustingly handsome, squared jaw, piercing gaze - the man could have walked right off the cover of the military romance novels Aleja’s mother pretended not to collect and hide in her locker - but it was his armor that arrested her. Matte black with red accents, a tri-striped red and white emblem emblazoned along the right arm, and a small logo, in the same colors, on the chest - an N7.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For a moment, Aleja was sixteen again, standing in the headmaster’s office with her mother’s sobs ringing in her ears. An Alliance general, with no other identifying feature beyond “old,” awkwardly held out a folded dress uniform decorated with its own N7.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The soldier - Alenko - holstered his pistol and stepped toward her, one hand extended. “You are…?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mine.” Vakarian brushed past the soldier and pulled Aleja’s arms behind her, none too gently. He pulled a pair of restraints from the pouch at his waist and secured her wrists at the small of her back. “Thanks for the assist, Commander.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aleja covered her wince with a grin. “So possessive, Vakarian.” She glanced back at him over her shoulder. “You wanted to have a chat, all you had to do was ask.” He rolled his eyes and pulled the restraints tighter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, what are you doing?” Tali asked. She tried to push between Aleja and Vakarian, and he backed away, pulling Aleja with him. “She was helping me! She hasn’t done anything wrong!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Vakarian snorted, an odd noise in his delayed, overlapping tones. The points of light behind Tali’s faceplate brightened and she took a step forward. Aleja shifted, trying to put herself in front of the quarian. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Tali…</span>
  </em>
  <span>” she warned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This is C-Sec business,” Vakarian interrupted. “She’s a criminal. Protecting one witness doesn’t erase a decade of supplying the black market.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aleja rolled her eyes. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Please</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I’ve had private clients for at least three years now. No need for insults, Vakarian.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Vakarian?’” Tali repeated. “You were supposed to go to the clinic! C-Sec was supposed to send you to help Dr. Michel!” The helmet’s speaker crackled as it struggled to compensate for her volume, and she balled both hands into fists.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dr. Michel is fine.” Alenko stepped forward, extending the same hand he’d held out to Aleja. Tali eyed it, and he wisely let his arm fall. “I swear. We just came from the clinic. She’s a bit shaken, but she’s safe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?” The lights narrowed. “How did you know Fist would attack her?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We didn’t,” he admitted. “We were looking for you. Fist was… ‘helpful’ enough to tell us we could find you there.” He gestured to himself and the human woman, the one he’d called Williams. “We think you have information we need, about the geth.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aleja tensed, remembering the Den’s bartender’s mention of geth on Eden Prime, but Vakarian tugged on her restraints. “This is where we part ways, Commander.” He pulled on the cuffs again. “I’ve got a delivery to make.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alenko nodded. “We’ll be at the Alliance Embassy, regardless of the Council’s decision. Don’t take too long.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Vakarian gave him a lazy salute, then gripped Aleja’s upper arm and tugged, gentle but insistent. She started to move with him, but Tali stepped forward again. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Please</span>
  </em>
  <span>. This isn’t fair. She saved me from Fist’s ambush, and she called C-Sec to help Dr. Michel - ”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Tali</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Aleja met the quarian’s eyes, held the bright gaze. The girl meant well, but clearly she had trouble reading a room. “This is borrowing trouble, kid.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tali deflated and took a step back, closer to Alenko and company. The commander, surprised, tried to catch Aleja’s eye, but she avoided him. The attention of the Alliance was bad enough; an N7 looking into her didn’t bear thinking about. Vakarian pulled on her arm again, and Aleja let him lead her away, down the far end of the corridor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>To her surprise, he didn’t take her to the nearest transit console, back through the markets and near Chora’s Den. Aleja had expected Vakarian to parade her through the Ward corridors, Upper and Lower, a symbol of the culmination of their five-year cat-and-mouse game across the Citadel.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Instead, Vakarian escorted her through a few underused alleys to a cross-station lift. Unlike the surrounding corridors, the lift’s door was clean and free of debris, and it slid open smoothly. The keepers might not be the best maids, but they made sure travel was uninhibited. Vakarian pushed Aleja into the lift, forcing her to catch herself against the wall with a shoulder. He thumbed a destination on the panel and leaned next to it as the lift disengaged from its housing and rose with a faint whine.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aleja steadied herself and slid down to sit on the lift floor, legs folded underneath her. Vakarian ignored her, busying himself with his omni-tool. He looked older than when she’d seen him last - not so much a physical aging or a palpable weariness, but a confident weight to the way he carried himself. She hadn’t kept up with his work since their last brush half a year ago - how many cases had he closed?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Vakarian’s gaze flicked up to hers. His eyes, like all turians’, were arresting - inhuman, the pinprick of a raptor’s pupil floating in an expanse of color, set deep behind the mask-like facial plates. A predator’s gaze; even now, decidedly in his control, Aleja felt a thrill, her primal instincts urging her to run from the threat or meet with her own aggression.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked away first and shifted to a more comfortable position in an effect to ease the tension in both her wrists and the lift. “Though you’d be a little more excited, you know. I mean, this is </span>
  <em>
    <span>me </span>
  </em>
  <span>we’re talking about.” Aleja gave him a lazy grin. “Pallin might even give you a commendation.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m celebrating on the inside,” Vakarian said dryly. “The idea of never crawling through those ducts again is thrilling.” He returned to his omni-tool for a long moment before he spoke again. “Tell me something.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m a Capricorn.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He ignored the quip. “You called C-Sec to the clinic. Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’d rather I’d have let her die?” Aleja asked. “I’m not cruel, Vakarian. She didn’t deserve to suffer for Fist’s…” She shrugged as best she could with bound arms. “Greed, fear, stupidity - whatever made him betray the Shadow Broker.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If Vakarian was surprised by the revelation, he didn’t show it. “You didn’t call in Fist, or his goons. You reported yourself and called me out.” His eyes narrowed. “Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aleja avoided his gaze again, instead studying the lift’s matte white floor. Its surface was pristine - any scuffs or chips were always repaired with the keepers’ single-minded focus. A perfect facade, just like the rest of the Citadel. As counterfeit as it was, to many the Citadel was home. No one deserved to lose that for trying to make it a better place.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She glanced back up at Vakarian and found him watching her closely, his arms folded over his chest. Turians were inarguably avian, but they reminded Aleja a bit of the big cats she’d seen in vids. Even relaxed, there was a sense of power in the way Vakarian moved, a strength just barely held in reserve. Coupled with the way they walked on the balls of their feet, heels high and floating, and the predatory set of their eyes, there always seemed a touch of the feline in their genetics. There was a gracefulness in it, along with the danger.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aleja grinned, a marriage of amusement and aggression. “Would you believe I missed you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Vakarian stared at her, mandibles slack, then shook his head, a disgusted sigh escaping him. He turned his back on her, as clear a dismissal as any. “I’m transferring you to another officer when we reach headquarters. You’ll be somebody else’s problem.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The barb actually stung, but Aleja kept her expression neutral. “Really? You won’t even escort me to my cell? And after all we’ve been through.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t turn, didn’t acknowledge the taunt. The silence stretched between them - Vakarian was done talking. Always her least favorite part of their encounters.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aleja slumped back against the lift wall. Her wrists were starting to burn again, but she didn’t dare give Vakarian the satisfaction by voicing her discomfort. In the face of what awaited her, a little pain was hardly a concern.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The thought was sobering. Her shadow had finally caught up, her freedom ripped from her. Aleja exhaled, long and deep, and leaned her head back, closing her eyes. Her capture was disappointing, frightening even, but not unfair. It was simply how the game was played, and Vakarian had come out the victor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Bien hecho, mi sombra</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Aleja had long since stopped counting the hours when the door to her interrogation cell opened.</p><p>She squinted against the light, then frowned as a dim silhouette in the center resolved into the tall frame of Kaidan Alenko. He closed the door, restoring the cell’s dim glow, and moved to sit opposite her, all without glancing up from the datapad in his hands.</p><p>Aleja leaned back in her chair, as far as her restraints would allow, and waited. When he continued to read, she lightly rattled the cord tethering her to the table. “No offense, Commander, but C-Sec’s kind of a downgrade from the Alliance.”</p><p>Alenko snorted, but didn’t respond right away. He scanned the datapad further for several minutes before he finally spoke. “You know, I only agreed to come down here because Tali actually refused to give us her data. I <em> had </em> planned to just stop in Executor Pallin’s office and kill some time, shoot the breeze, but <em> then </em>-” He waggled the datapad. “I saw your file.”</p><p>Aleja tensed, her lips pressed into a thin line. When she failed to respond, Alenko finally glanced up at her and did a double-take. “Are you alright?”</p><p>She lifted a hand to her left eye on reflex, but the cord pulled her up short. For the best anyway; even without touching it, the skin still throbbed. Judging by Alenko’s expression, it was starting to blacken. “I’m fine. Just good, old-fashioned C-Sec hospitality.”</p><p>“Did Garrus…”</p><p>“What? No,” Aleja said. “Vakarian might not use kid gloves, but he generally draws the line at police brutality.” She leaned forward and propped her chin into her hand, mouth curving up in a lazy smile. Despite the circumstances, she was pleased something had rattled Alenko. Being in control made him far too smug. “Now, about my file?”</p><p>Alenko stared at her for another moment, then he cleared his throat and glanced back to the datapad. “Right… so, Alejandra Jazmín Aislinn Shepherd.” He met her gaze again, confidence restored. “That’s quite the mouthful.”</p><p>Aleja shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “Mom got to pick the first two - Dad thought it was only fair he got another.”</p><p>“Speaking of.” Alenko scrolled up on the datapad with a flick of his thumb. “Your mother: <em> Commander </em> Marisol Shepherd, XO of the <em> Kilimanjaro </em>.” He raised an eyebrow, an inquisitive smile pulling at his mouth. “I bet there’s a story there.”</p><p>“Well, you know what they say,” Aleja said, reclining in her chair. The cord pulled taunt, digging the cuffs into her wrists, but she ignored it. “You can’t pick your family.”</p><p>“They <em> do </em> say that,” Alenko agreed, his grin widening. He had a good smile, Aleja decided, easy and natural, like he did it often. She idly wondered what else those lips did easy and often.</p><p>Alenko, oblivious to her study of him, returned to her file. “Quite the reputation to live up to. And your father, too: Lieutenant Commander Kieran Shepherd, of the <em> Einstein </em>.” His voice sobered, smile falling away. Just like everyone’s did when they found out. “Killed in action on Mindoir.” Alenko’s eyes lifted to hers. “I’m sorry. I hadn’t read that far ahead.”</p><p>“Relax, Alliance.” Aleja waved away the apology. After more than a decade of practice, the gesture was almost automatic. “People lose parents every day.”</p><p>“Not like…” Alenko trailed off, glancing back at the datapad. “Explains why you looked like you’d seen a ghost back in the Wards.”</p><p>Aleja shifted, uncomfortable, and dropped her gaze to the table. The pity was always the worst part; people acted as if her father had died six months ago instead of thirteen years. She had her own issues with his death - she was self-aware enough to admit that - but they were hers. She didn’t need people adding to them.</p><p>The tension stretched between them, and Aleja fought the urge to scratch at the inside of her wrist. Alenko broke the silence with another awkward cough. “So, how does one go from a deep-roots Alliance family to a Citadel smuggler?”</p><p>Her lopsided smile crept back into place, and she met his eyes again. “You’ve got the file, Alenko.” Aleja spread her arms - or tried to, with the restraints. “I’ve got no secrets.”</p><p>“Kaidan.”</p><p>She blinked. “What?”</p><p>“You can just call me, Kaidan.” His gaze dropped to the pad, leaving Aleja to gape at him. “Let’s see… you entered the Academy at eighteen and washed out within a year.” He paused. “On purpose?”</p><p>“Not all of us are cut out for the stylish body armor.”</p><p>“I saw the way you fought back there,” Kaidan said. He fixed her with that piercing, front-of-a-bodice-ripper stare. “Even without communication, you anticipated Wrex and Garrus’ attacks and complimented them.” He tapped the datapad’s screen. “Didn’t look like a lack of talent to me.”</p><p>Aleja shrugged and kept her face neutral. “There was a lot going on. Nobody can blame you for being confused.”</p><p>“Uh-huh.” He scrolled further. “Vanished from Earth shortly after dismissal; reappeared six months later on the Citadel, running with a small-time burglary ring. Within three years, you began operating as a freelance smuggler. That seems like rapid improvement.”</p><p>“Careful, <em> Kaidan </em> ,” Aleja warned, dipping her chin to look up at him through her lashes. “It almost sounds like you’re <em> trying </em>to flatter me.”</p><p>“And your mother never reported you missing.”</p><p>Aleja stiffened, her sultry facade shattering into a blank mask. Inwardly, she was surprised how much that stung. She wasn’t ignorant of the fact - neither she nor her mother had made an effort at contact since she left Guanajuato - but hearing someone else say it so plainly was jarring. She forced a dismissive wave. “No mother is obligated to chase down their adult child. And I was never missing. Nothing escapes Marisol Shepherd - you’d know that if you met her.”</p><p>“I haven’t had the pleasure.”</p><p>“Lucky you.”</p><p>Kaidan chuckled. “I’m starting to see why you chose this ‘career.’ Okay, so you committed a lot of small jobs for the next two years, until your pattern changed, about five years ago. Fewer jobs, but grander in scale.” He lifted his gaze to hers. “Interestingly, that correlates perfectly with Garrus’ start at C-Sec.”</p><p>“Life is full of little coincidences,” Aleja said, but she couldn’t hide her grin. Vakarian’s arrival on the Citadel had been a revelation, like she’d finally escaped a rut she hadn’t known she’d fallen in. Before he joined C-Sec, everything had become so by the numbers The first time they met was like a breath of fresh air. He’d nearly caught her, the closest anyone had ever come, and she’d rode the high from her escape for nearly a week. “What else would you like to know, Kaidan? My favorite color? Blood type? It’s not that I don’t enjoy this stroll through my resume, but I fail to see why it convinced you to come down here.”</p><p>Kaidan nodded and set aside the datapad. “You’ve heard about the attack on Eden Prime?”</p><p>Aleja hesitated before nodding. “Someone might have mentioned it… along with the geth.”</p><p>His face darkened. “Yeah.”</p><p>“You’re taking it hard.”</p><p>“Fifty-seven civilian casualties; half again as many Alliance soldiers with them.” Kaidan’s voice was soft, but there was an edge to it that raised the hairs along Aleja’s arms. “Cut down by the geth, or - or worse.” His gaze hardened. “Lost one of my own men down there.”</p><p>Kaidan went quiet, staring into the middle distance. “You were there?” Aleja asked, shifting to sit up straight. When he didn’t answer, she leaned forward. “Kaidan?”</p><p>His eyes focused on her, and he shook himself. “Saren Arterius.”</p><p>Aleja frowned. “He’s a Spectre, right? Turian? Seen some stories about him on the ‘net, but never worked for the guy.”</p><p>“He was leading the geth.”</p><p>A startled laugh escaped Aleja. “What?”</p><p>“He came to Eden Prime looking for something.” Kaidan picked up the datapad again, flicking through a few files before setting it in front of her. “This.”</p><p>Aleja leaned forward, her braid slipping over her shoulder. A grainy image stretched across the datapad’s screen: a tall stone - or maybe metal - pillar rising from the ground. Its surface was etched and whorled with alien designs - <em> truly </em>alien. Not turian, asari, salarian, or any of the non-Council races. It was ancient and advanced all at once, and Aleja’s skin crawled just looking at it.</p><p>“It’s Prothean,” Kaidan explained. “Researchers dug it up outside the settlement. It’s some kind of beacon.”</p><p>“What does Saren want with it?” Aleja asked. “Or the geth?”</p><p>Kaidan shook his head. “We don’t know for sure,” he admitted, “but Saren hates humanity.”</p><p>Aleja frowned. “And the geth hate organics - according to the quarians. Why would they help him?” She pushed the datapad back toward him. “Why are you telling me all this, anyway?”</p><p>“Because I’m putting together a team to stop him.” He held her gaze. “And I want you to be a part of it.”</p><p>Aleja couldn’t help it - another laugh broke free. “You didn’t strike me as the joking type.”</p><p>“Good.” He didn’t smile. “I’m not.”</p><p>The grin slipped from her face. “You’re serious.” Aleja shook her head and leaned back from the table. “It doesn’t matter if you are. C-Sec is independent; they won’t let you take me. And I don’t see the Council forcing their hand for a <em> smuggler </em>.”</p><p>“But a Spectre could.”</p><p>“Which you just happen to have on call?”</p><p>The cell door slammed open before Kaidan could answer. Aleja winced as the light poured in around the figure of Executor Pallin. The turian stalked in, coming to a stop next to Kaidan. His mandibles were almost flush with his jaw, and Aleja wisely kept quiet. Kaidan remained seated, meeting Pallin’s fury with an easy smile. “Can I help you, Executor?”</p><p>“Did you think I wouldn’t find out, Commander?” Pallin hissed. His sharp needle-like teeth flashed in the gaps between his mandibles with every word. This is <em> my </em>house. You can’t order my officers to turn over confidential files just because the Council decided to show humanity a little attention.”</p><p>“Maybe I’m confused,” Kaidan said, his light tone failing to mask the disdain in the words. He stood, arms crossed over his chest. Though Pallin towered over him by a foot, the commander didn’t seem the least bit intimidated. “A Spectre is allowed to requisition anything he or she wants, right? As long as it's Council business, of course.”</p><p>“How is <em> she </em>‘Council business?’” Pallin stabbed a thin finger in Aleja’s direction. “Do you know how much Red Sand she’s brought to the Citadel? How many thugs in the Lower Wards are armed with her ‘product?’ How many missing civilians she’s responsible for?”</p><p>“Hey,” Aleja snapped, straightening in her chair. “I’ve <em> never </em>moved anyone anywhere they didn’t wanna go.” When Pallin shifted his glare to her, she shrugged. “The rest is true.”</p><p>“She has… <em> unique </em>talents, perfectly suited for my mission.” Kaidan was in full officer mode now - Aleja had seen it on Marisol enough times to recognize it by tone alone. “I’ve got every right to conscript her… unless you’d like to go to the Council and tell them you’re refusing a Spectre.”</p><p>“And what happens if I release her into your custody?” Pallin punctuated his sentence with a jab to Kaidan’s shoulder. To the commander’s credit, he didn’t react. “She slips her leash, and six weeks from now, she’ll be my problem again. And this time, I won’t have Vakarian to chase her around.”</p><p>Aleja perked up at that. Vakarian was leaving C-Sec? Leaving the Citadel? Her heart sank. Pallin was right - she would take the first opportunity to escape - but was it worth coming back to the Citadel if her shadow was gone?</p><p>“I’ll take responsibility in the event she escapes,” Kaidan assured Pallin. He glanced sideways at Aleja, but she only stared back at him. If he wanted to take the blame when she disappeared, more power to him. “But I doubt that will happen. As a show of good faith, the Alliance has agreed to pursue the same charges as C-Sec if she runs.”</p><p>Aleja’s blood went cold. C-Sec she could avoid - she’d been doing it for a decade - but there was no running from the Alliance. Not unless she wanted to slum it on Omega for the rest of her life, or, God forbid, try her luck in the rest of the Terminus Systems. Which one would kill her quicker was debatable.</p><p>Kaidan’s claim appeared to mollify Pallin. His mandibles relaxed, and he took an awkward step back, as if realizing intimidating a Spectre wasn’t the smartest idea. “I’d ask you why, but I have a feeling I wouldn’t understand.” He sighed. “Very well, Commander. I’ll arrange her release.” Pallin moved away, turning back when he reached the door. “I wish you luck. With her, you’ll need it.” With that, he left, the door sliding shut behind her.</p><p>Kaidan sat back down and picked up the datapad. Aleja watched him avoid her gaze, the uncomfortable tension building between them again. She viewed him differently now - the teasing and flirting were fine when there was nothing he could do to her, but now he was a threat. Her fingers started to stray toward her wrist, so she folded her hands on the table to stop the impulse. “Do I get a choice in this?”</p><p>“Of course,” Kaidan said, but it was another moment before he met her eyes. “You can say no, and…” He waved a hand at the cell walls, “or you can join me and fight for something bigger than yourself.”</p><p>Aleja snorted. “No offense, but that ‘last line of humanity’s defense’ <em> mierda </em>didn’t work on me when I was a kid. Don’t like your luck now.”</p><p>“I’m serious.” Kaidan sat the datapad aside again and leaned across the table. Aleja pulled her hands back on reflex. “Saren won’t stop at humanity. Whatever he’s planning, the whole galaxy’s gonna feel it.”</p><p>The intensity in his words frightened her. “How do you know this?”</p><p>Something flickered behind Kaidan’s eyes - a haunted look, there and gone before Aleja was sure she hadn’t imagined it. “I received a… a warning.” He shook his head and sat back, one hand going to the back of his neck. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. But this thing is beyond any of us, and if we can’t stop what Saren has planned, cell walls won’t keep you safe. I believe you can help us, but you <em> do </em>have a choice.”</p><p>“I’m a smuggler - you want something hard to find, I can get it for you.” Aleja scrubbed a hand over her eyes. This was supposed to be the end of the game for her, not a separate one entirely. “I can’t help you save the galaxy.”</p><p>“You’re Alliance-trained, you think tactically, and, unlike most of my crew, you’re more… flexible about who you work with,” Kaidan said. “Your other… ‘skills’ may have uses, too.” He held out a hand. “In here, you’re of no use to anyone. Join my crew, and at least you’ll be free.”</p><p>“Until it’s over, right?” Aleja eyed his hand, but she neither took it or slapped it away. “When this is done, what happens to me?”</p><p>“I don’t know,” he admitted, “but your chance at a Council pardon is higher if you come with me.”</p><p>“So is my chance of death.”</p><p>“Well, nothing’s perfect,” Kaidan said. He smiled again: warm, crooked, and genuine. “You wouldn’t be alone, though.”</p><p>Her mouth pulled up in a smirk. “No, just on a team with a bunch of law-abiding Marines. Sounds fun.”</p><p>“This is a Council mission - not just Alliance. Besides, this is two birds with one stone. Tali agreed to join if I could convince you.”</p><p>“And there it is.”</p><p>“<em> But </em>everything I’ve said still stands,” Kaidan stressed. “You’d be a crucial addition to the team.”</p><p>“So, I get <em> what </em>out of this?” Aleja laced her fingers and propped her chin on them. “A ‘possible’ pardon? Big ol’ ‘thanks for participating’ from the Alliance? The pitch needs work.”</p><p>“Well, I’d never expect you to do it for free.” Kaidan picked up the datapad and flicked across the screen a few times before he placed it back in front of her. “You’d be considered a consultant, with all the protections and <em> pay </em>it comes with.”</p><p>Aleja stared at the screen. The fine print was a lot of the expected jargon, complicated wording designed to cloak all the usual loopholes, but the compensation had her eyebrows crawling up into her hairline. More than she’d make on most jobs, with far more payment security.</p><p>She glanced up at Kaidan, still not entirely ready to trust a, frankly, ludicrous promise. “And exactly how much is syphoned off while I’m locked up, should I not get a pardon?”</p><p>“<em> If </em>that happens, the Alliance is willing to place the remaining funds in a protected account. It won’t accrue anything, but it’ll remain untouched.”</p><p>“‘Remaining?’”</p><p>Kaidan shrugged. “Everybody needs the basics.” The corner of his mouth twitched. “Although, I expect yours are a bit different than most.”</p><p>Aleja’s gaze fell back to the datapad. She gnawed at the inside of her lip as she scanned the contract once more. The offer was more than tempting - in her position, she’d be a fool to turn it down - but she still hesitated. For her, the Alliance carried the shade of loss - her father’s literal death and her estrangement from her mother’s family because of it. And yet, it was her only way out of this cell.</p><p>Before she could doubt her decision, Aleja pressed her thumb to the small translucent square at the bottom of the datapad. It flashed as her print was scanned, and a soft chime signaled the signature had been accepted. She pushed it back toward Kaidan and sat back, her thumb tracing circles on her inner wrist.</p><p>Kaidan scooped up the datapad, his smile breaking into a full grin. “Welcome aboard, Alejandra.”</p><p>“Aleja.”</p><p>He nodded, smile softer. “Welcome aboard, Aleja.”</p><hr/><p>Aleja snapped the thin metal band housing her omnitool around her wrist and activated it. Her visor, comfortably back in place over her left ear, surged to life along with the orange-tinted hologram. She ran a diagnostic, manually inspecting the more sensitive programs. Through the translucent blue screen, she caught sight of Pallin glaring at her. “Careful. You keep making that face, it’ll get stuck like that.”</p><p>His sour expression only deepened the glower reflected on the face of the officers milling about C-Sec’s atrium. Hours ago, Aleja’s instincts would have been screaming at her to make a mad dash for the elevator to the Lower Ward, shooting her way out if necessary, but now, with a Spectre by her side, her fear evaporated. Funny how that worked.</p><p>Kaidan pressed his thumb to the datapad Pallin held out, the last of his signatures for her release. He drew his hand back and saluted the turian. “I appreciate the cooperation, Executor.”</p><p>“Spare me, Commander.” The flexible plates forming Pallin’s mouth didn’t purse, but his clenched mandibles spoke loud and clear. “I want you both off my station within the hour, or I’ll find a reason to ground that charity case you arrived on for a few hours, out of spite.” He turned and strode away without a backward glance. “I wouldn’t return anytime soon, not without a good reason. Give me and my men some time to cool off.”</p><p>“Aye, aye, sir,” Kaidan called after him. He took Aleja’s elbow and gently directed her into the atrium’s central elevator. It was only after the door slid shut on the glares and the elevator started its descent that he sagged against the wall with a relieved sigh. “If looks could kill. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone that angry with me since Jump Zero.”</p><p>Aleja glanced away from her omnitool’s readout, curiosity piqued. “You went to Jump Zero?”</p><p>He raised an eyebrow. “I’m surprised you know what that is.”</p><p>“One of my cousins attended before it was shut down.” She eyed Kaidan closer. He couldn’t be more than a few years older than her - odds were he was a first generation biotic. Aleja shifted her gaze to the back of his neck, where his biotic amp sat flush to the base of his skull. Did it bother him like Elena’s did? Likely not to the same extent, if the Alliance still considered him fit for active duty. Kaidan glanced sideways at her, uncomfortable with the scrutiny, and she looked away. “So… you’re from Singapore?”</p><p>“Canada, actually.” The easy grin slipped back into place now that she’d moved on from Jump Zero. Aleja filed away the observation for later. “My dad was stationed in Singapore when the accidents happened.” Aleja nodded. Elena’s father was a native of the city, but he’d moved her <em> tia </em>back to Guanajuato as soon as the air space was clear of the eezo explosions. “Your cousin in the Alliance, too?”</p><p>“She was,” Aleja said and left it at that. She’d seen Elena during an <em> episode </em>once, as Marisol put it; she had no desire to see it again. “We’re, ah, not exactly close. She grew up on Earth.”</p><p>“You didn’t?”</p><p>“Space-born, and the fewer planets I set foot on, the better.” She grimaced. “Though I expect that’s not really going to be an option from here on out.”</p><p>Kaidan laughed, and Aleja decided she was beginning to like the sound. It was warm and well-used, but tinged with a rough quality, as though he’d laughed in spite of the pain he’d witnessed and endured. It was like her father’s laugh.</p><p>Aleja slammed the door on that thought. Only pain lay that way, and she’d had enough of that for a good long while.</p><p>Her stomach flipped as the elevator began to slow and then stop, the door sliding open on a soft whoosh to admit them to a private dock. The docks were one of Aleja’s favorite places on the Citadel. Located on the inner edge of the central ring, the docks offered the clearest view of the five arms. They stretched out into the distance, the Wards a tangle of fairy lights along their length. This time, however, her attention was captured by the ship resting at the dock.</p><p>The <em> Normandy </em>was even more impressive up close. Its sharp nose curved down from the rest of the body, the thrusters extending to port and starboard like wings. The hull gleamed beneath the dock lights, and though Aleja could see the soft glow of an idle drive at the aft end, it made no sound. Despite the docking clamps holding it securely in place, the ship radiated power.</p><p>“Commander!”</p><p>Aleja pulled her gaze away from the <em> Normandy </em>to see two men standing next to the ship’s airlock. The shorter of the two, dressed in a formal robe of office, scowled as she and Kaidan approached. Aleja recognized him from Extranet articles: Donnel Udina, humanity’s ambassador to the Council. He glared down his hawkish nose, mouth set in a permanent downward turn. Granted, dealing with the Council all day would put a sour look on anyone’s face.</p><p>She recognized the other man as well, though for more personal reasons. Tall, with a soldier’s build despite the new lines in his dark face, David Anderson looked much the same as the last time she’d seen him. Older than when he’d sat across from her at her parents’ table, chuckling at a joke her father made, he was still imposing. Anderson’s gaze softened as it fell on Aleja, a smile tugging at one side of his mouth. She averted her eyes. He reminded her of too many precious things lost.</p><p>“Criminals now, Commander?” Udina asked as Aleja and Kaidan joined the two men. His voice was nearly as unpleasant as the look he gave Aleja. “Is it wise to test the Council’s patience so soon?”</p><p>“I think they’re a little more concerned about a rogue Spectre,” Kaidan deadpanned. “With all due respect, Ambassador.”</p><p>Udina’s frown deepened, but Anderson stepped in before he could respond. “I’m sure they understand Commander Alenko is doing what he believes necessary.” He shifted to Aleja, tentative smile returning. “It’s been a while, Alejandra. You look... well.”</p><p>Kaidan cut a sideways look at Aleja, but she ignored him. “Same to you, Commander.”</p><p>He chuckled. “It’s <em> Captain </em> now, actually.”</p><p>“Well… congrats, then.” She shifted awkwardly. The last time she’d seen Anderson was over a decade ago, after her father’s funeral - it might as well have been another life.</p><p>Anderson appeared to notice her discomfort, and he turned back to Kaidan. “The <em> Normandy </em>’s ready to go, Commander.” His smile grew sad. “She’ll serve you well.”</p><p>Kaidan frowned. “Sir?”</p><p>“Captain Anderson has a… ‘history’ with Saren,” Udina explained. “The Alliance feels it would be more appropriate that he not lead this mission, to avoid giving the Council the wrong idea.”</p><p>“That’s not fair,” Kaidan said, face hardening. “The <em> Normandy </em>is Anderson’s ship; he should - ”</p><p>“The <em> Normandy </em> is the <em> Alliance </em>’s ship,” Anderson said, the rebuke gentle but firm. “And Udina’s right - I don’t want to jeopardize the mission because the Council thinks I want revenge for an old grudge. Besides, I had my chance.” He gripped Kaidan’s shoulder. “It’s time to let someone else lead, and I have every faith in you, Kaidan.”</p><p>Aleja looked away and pulled her braid over her shoulder, twirling the tuft at the end between her fingers. Part of her was guilty for witnessing something so personal, and the rest was angry at Anderson for forcing her to watch. He <em> had </em>to know it would remind her of her father; there was something manipulative in it, or Anderson would have done this behind closed doors.</p><p>Udina, his discomfort apparent, cleared his throat. “Anderson, we should return to my office and begin coordinating things on our end. Admiral Hackett has already left five messages, and you know how he hates being kept waiting.”</p><p>“Of course.” Anderson squeezed Kaidan’s shoulder again before letting go. “Good luck, Commander. We’ll be here if you need us.” His gaze rested on Aleja briefly, but she glanced away before he could speak. The sad smile flickered across Anderson’s face again, and he nodded to her before following Udina off the dock.</p><p>Once the two were out of earshot, Kaidan rounded on Aleja. “You know the captain?”</p><p>“My <em> parents </em> knew him,” Aleja said, her voice tense. She waved a hand at the <em> Normandy </em>’s airlock. “So, do I get a tour or what?”</p><p>“Uh, sure.” Kaidan motioned her to follow. The airlock door slid open as they approached, a pleasant female VI requesting they hold while the ship’s sensors performed a scan and disinfection. The inner door whooshed open to admit them, the VI announcing Kaidan’s return.</p><p>Aleja’s first impression was <em> sterile </em> . Ceramic and steel made up the bulk of the <em> Normandy </em>’s interior structure. The central corridor from the body to the nose was narrow - there was hardly enough room for her and Kaidan to stand side by side. A row of command stations lined both sides of the corridor to their right, the glow of the holographic displays tinting the inner hull orange.  Most were manned - all human, both men and women - and appeared indifferent to Kaidan’s arrival, though a few shot her surreptitious glances.</p><p>A voice called out from behind them. “So, we’re picking up felons now, Commander?”</p><p>“<em> Joker </em> …” Kaidan warned as Aleja swiveled to regard the speaker. A slight man sat in the cockpit - the <em> Normandy </em>’s helmsman, obviously - his face and ginger beard lit by the navigation displays. A ball cap sat low on his head, almost obscuring his eyes. Not Alliance standard, but if Kaidan made no comment, the helmsman must have earned the leniency.</p><p>He glanced her up and down. “At least she’s hot.”</p><p>“Joker!” Kaidan snapped, but he hesitated when Aleja only chuckled. “Aleja, Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau. Joker, Alejandra Shepherd.”</p><p>“‘Joker?’” Aleja asked.</p><p>Kaidan let out a soft groan, and Joker’s face hardened. “My winning personality,” he said, voice waspish. “Flight instructor thought it was amusing, since I didn’t smile a lot at the Academy. Name stuck - followed me all the way to the top of my class.”</p><p>He sounded like he was daring her to call his skill into question, though Aleja wasn’t sure why. She decided to err on the side of caution - being on a pilot’s bad side wasn’t the best position. “How else would you be in that chair? Extraordinary ship needs an extraordinary pilot.”</p><p>Joker squinted at her for a long moment. Then he broke into a grin. “I like this one, Commander. A lot better than that turian with a stick up his ass.”</p><p>Aleja turned to Kaidan. “A turian <em> and </em>a criminal? Alliance brass must be having a field day.”</p><p>“Like I said, this isn’t just an Alliance mission,” Kaidan said. “And if they survived the ship being built, they’ll make it through this.” He took Aleja’s elbow and guided her past him down the corridor. The action was so gentlemanly she didn’t pull away. An interesting man, this Kaidan Alenko. “We’re done here, Joker. Get us out to the relay.”</p><p>“Aye, aye.” Joker swiveled his chair back to the command console, his hands flying across the displays. Aleja watched, mesmerized. Piloting was one of her few deficits, but Joker made it look easy. A dull jolt rang through the ship as the docking clamps released, quickly replaced by silence. Aleja strained to listen, but the sound of the drive core was so faint she couldn’t be sure it wasn’t her imagination. She could only tell they were moving by the rapidly receding dock in the viewscreen.</p><p>Kaidan touched her shoulder. “Should we continue the tour?”</p><p>She gestured for him to lead. “By all means.”</p><p>The corridor ended in the CIC, a wide circular space that seemed larger than it should. A curved console wrapped around a short pillar projecting a massive holographic map of the Milky Way. At its back, a small set of stairs led to a platform just above the projection. It was a marvel, and Aleja’s fingers itched to crack open its code.</p><p>Several crewmen milled around the console, saluting Kaidan as he passed, but he made a beeline for an older balding man in a dark blue officer’s uniform. He held a datapad in one hand and manipulated a display with the other, pausing only when Kaidan stepped up next to him. “Welcome aboard, Commander Alenko.” The man’s gaze shifted to Aleja and his smile vanished. “This is your newest… ‘acquisition?’”</p><p>Aleja bristled at his tone, but Kaidan stepped between them. “Aleja, this is our navigator, Charles Pressly. Pressly, meet Alejandra Shepherd.”</p><p>“‘Shepherd?’” Pressly repeated, his eyes widening. Aleja pressed her lips into a thin line. Just what she needed, another of her parents’ admirers. Pressly cleared his throat, a sheepish hand coming up to rub the back of his neck. “I, uh, I’m sorry. I knew your parents; I even served with your mother for a little while, when we were younger.”</p><p>“My condolences,” Aleja said.</p><p>“She had a sharp tongue, too,” Pressly said, and Aleja winced. Her ultimate kryptonite: being compared to Marisol. Pressly chuckled and turned back to Kaidan. “Well, I might not approve of her choices, but at least she’s one of us.” He cleared his throat again and set the datapad down, bringing his hands together in nervous fidgeting. “Commander, I just want to reiterate my concern over giving our ‘guests’ free rein of the ship. Many of the <em> Normandy </em>’s systems are confidential, and -”</p><p>“Which the turians already know, since they helped build her,” Kaidan interrupted. His voice was even, but Aleja caught an undercurrent of frustration. A frequent argument, then. “The quarians are, at best, suspicious of other species’ tech, and I doubt the krogan are building a fleet anytime soon. Our <em> allies </em> have no reason to sabotage this mission.”</p><p>“I know you believe that, Commander, but it’s not just the <em> Normandy </em>.” Pressly glanced at Aleja, but she only gave him a stony stare in return. If he wanted support for his “fears,’” he wouldn’t get it from her. She hated the men who killed her father because of what they’d done, not what system they came from. “It’s not Tali I have a concern with - the girl seems earnest. But Wrex… sir, krogan or not, he’s no different from any other mercenary. If we’re outbid, he could turn on us without a second thought.” He grimaced. “And I’ve never met a turian as hot-headed and impulsive as Officer Vakarian. He is -”</p><p>“‘Vakarian?’” Aleja blurted as Kaidan raised a hand, too late to halt Pressly’s complaint. “Your turian is Garrus Vakarian?!”</p><p>Pressly glanced between the two of them. “I take it you’re familiar with his reputation?”</p><p>“You could say that.” Aleja turned to Kaidan. “Does he know?”</p><p>Kaidan sighed. “No. I, uh, haven’t found the best way to break it to him.”</p><p>She laughed, a strangled sound. “Takes him five years to arrest me, and then you bust me out of C-Sec and force us to work together? Kaidan, it won’t matter how you phrase it - he’s gonna pop a blood vessel as soon as he finds out.”</p><p>As if her words were a summons, the ship’s intercom crackled to life. “Hey, Commander. Word from the crew deck is that there’s a very pissed turian headed your way.”</p><p>“Thank you, Joker,” Kaidan said. He turned to Aleja. “I’ll talk him down, but please, <em> please </em>don’t antagonize him. Garrus wasn’t shy about your history, so I know how this usually goes.”</p><p>Aleja nodded, but a mischievous smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. “No promises, though.”</p><p>“Alenko!” One of the far doors at the rear of the command deck slid open, and Vakarian stalked through. “What the hell is the meaning of this?!” His eyes locked on Aleja, and his mandibles flared wide. Aleja shrank behind Kaidan, rattled. She was used to Vakarian angry, but it was always the reserved rage of the turian species. This was no longer the soldier, but the predator, finally free of his restraints.</p><p>The crewman around them tensed, and several reached for their sidearms as Vakarian crossed the room to stand in front of Kaidan. The scene was almost funny, in a hysterical sort of way. Vakarian towered a good foot over Kaidan, forcing them to crane their necks up and down respectively.</p><p>Kaidan gestured for the crewman to stand down. “She’s here to help, Garrus.”</p><p>“She’s a criminal,” Vakarian growled. His pupils were narrow, pinpricks in a wash of blue.</p><p>“I mean, so’s Wrex. Are you going to demand I turn him over to C-Sec?”</p><p>“I didn’t arrest <em> Wrex </em>.”</p><p>“And there it is,” Kaidan said. “Look, Garrus, we need all the help we can get on this. No matter where it comes from.” He folded his arms. “If you can’t set your ego aside for this, I can’t have you on this mission.”</p><p>Vakarian’s mandibles flared again, and he shifted his glare to Aleja. Then he frowned, mandibles slackening, and she realized he had focused on her injured eye. He sighed and took a step back from Kaidan. “If she runs, I expect <em> you </em>to chase her. I’ve already caught her once.”</p><p>“Can I trust you to follow orders? Even if it means working with Aleja?”</p><p>“I’m a turian, Commander.” Vakarian’s voice was suddenly tired, and he seemed to deflate with the words. “It’s in our DNA.” His eyes hardened. “I expect her back in her cell when this is done.” Without waiting for dismissal , he turned and marched back out of the CIC.</p><p>Pressly let out a labored sigh. “I think at least one of my points has been made for me, Commander.”</p><p>Kaidan glared at him, but didn’t rebuke the comment. He instead turned to Aleja, genuine concern in his eyes. “You alright?”</p><p>Aleja nodded. “I’ve, ah, never seen him like that before.” She shivered. “Not so sure I don’t want to take my chances with C-Sec now.”</p><p>“Just… keep your distance for now.” Kaidan ran a hand through his short dark hair. “Look, I’ve got some stuff to take care of, but I want you to get that eye checked out. Medbay is straight through there and down the stairs.” He waved toward the right-hand door at the back of the CIC. “Dr. Chakwas will take care of you.”</p><p>Aleja nodded again and headed through the door, leaving Kaidan with Pressly. She reached the bottom of the stairs and emerged onto the crew deck. The ship’s ceramic and steel design continued down here, black accents creating a sharp contrast. A few tables filled the small space, with a bank of cryo pods stretching down the room’s far end. Observation decks and crew quarters extended out to either side of her, and directly ahead was a door with the standard red-and-white logo for a medical facility. She passed her hand in front of the sensor, and the door slid open.</p><p>An older woman looked up as Aleja entered, rising from behind the desk to meet her in the center of the room. Despite her severe white bob, her lined face was kind, and her smile was warm. “You must be the latest of Kaidan’s strays.” A British lilt and a touch of mischief tinged her voice. “Dr. Karen Chakwas.”</p><p>“Aleja Shepherd,” Aleja said and shook Dr. Chakwas’ hand. Despite the older woman’s word choice, she didn’t sense any malice; if anything, “strays” sounded affectionate. She released Chakwas’ hand and gestured to her eye. “I’m sure it’s nothing, but Kaidan wants it checked out.”</p><p>Chakwas nodded and waved her toward an exam table. “Have a seat.” She scooped up a penlight from a nearby tray and shined it in Aleja’s eyes. “Reaction time looks good. Follow my finger… Full range of motion, check.” Chakwas put the light down and probed the skin around Aleja’s eye gently. She gritted her teeth against the sting, but didn’t pull away. “Ocular structure’s intact. You’ll have a hell of a shiner, but it’ll heal just fine.”</p><p>Aleja nodded, blinking away the dark spots on her vision, but she stayed on the table. Chakwas paused in washing her hands and glanced at her, head tilted. Aleja shook her head, thumb rubbing circles on the opposite wrist. “Sorry, this is just kinda hitting me all at once. It’s, ah, out of my wheelhouse.”</p><p>“Dear, you find me one person in the galaxy whose wheelhouse this <em> is </em>in, and I’ll sign over my pension.” Chakwas squeezed Aleja’s shoulder. “And I hate to say it, but things are only going to get more chaotic from here, so if you plan on having a breakdown, best to do it now and get it out of the way.”</p><p>“I’ll keep it in mind,” Aleja said, smiling despite herself. “Thanks, Doc.”</p><p>The medbay door whooshed open and Tali rushed in, skidding to a stop in front of Aleja. Her eyes shone like beacons behind the mask. “You’re here!”</p><p>“I take it the Flotilla doesn’t have rules against running on the ships,” Chakwas said dryly.</p><p>“Sorry, Dr. Chakwas.” Tali reached out to grab Aleja’s hands in hers. “I believed Kaidan would keep his promise, but when I saw Garrus stomping around engineering, I <em> knew </em>.” She faltered at the sight of Aleja’s eye. “You’re hurt.”</p><p>“I’m fine,” Aleja assured her. She gently tried to disengage, but Tali’s grip was tight. “Tali, I -” She trailed off with a glance at Chakwas.</p><p>The doctor picked up a datapad from the desk and headed for the door. “I’ll trust you to see yourselves out.” She glanced back before the door closed. “And no running.”</p><p>Aleja pulled her hands free of Tali’s fingers. “I don’t understand. Why would you tell Kaidan to take me along?”</p><p>Tali tipped her head to the side. “Because you helped me in the Lower Ward.”</p><p>“I did that for myself,” Aleja admitted. Shame, foreign after so many years, boiled hot under her skin. “I wouldn’t have helped you if there hadn’t been anything to gain.”</p><p>“I know.” Tali purposefully took one of Aleja’s hands again. “But you <em> did </em>help me. I just decided to return the favor.” She squeezed once and then let go. “Besides, I did this for myself, too. You’ve proven you can hold your own in a fight - might as well have one sure thing on this ship full of strangers.”</p><p>A startled laugh broke free of Aleja, taking some of the guilt with it. There was some truth to Tali’s perception. It would be good to have a familiar face, so to speak, among the crowd.</p><p>The medbay door opened again, but rather than Chakwas returning, Kaidan’s partner from the Wards entered, the one he’d called Williams. She wore just a casual uniform now, but even out of her armor, she was tall. Like most Alliance officers with long hair, hers was pulled back in a dark bun, though she’d given it her own touch with a braid encircling one side of her head.</p><p>Tali slipped to Aleja’s side, almost as if she wanted to hide behind the exam table. “Hello, Chief Williams.”</p><p>Williams’ gaze flicked to Tali briefly before returning to Aleja. She frowned, her olive skin drawing taunt over the planes of her face. “Shepherd, right? Hear you’ve got quite the pedigree.”</p><p>“Aleja.” Something about Williams’ tone, coupled with Tali’s reaction, put Aleja on edge. “You should see my rap sheet.”</p><p>Williams sneered. “And I thought the commander was crazy for bringing the aliens onboard. At least they serve a purpose.” You… well, maybe he just gets lonely.”</p><p>“Does that bother you?”</p><p>The sneer slid off Williams’ face. “Hope you’re more than a name, Shepherd. Commander’s arranging a debrief in twenty - wants both of you there.” Message delivered, Williams left without another word.</p><p>Aleja hopped off the table. “And here I thought Vakarian was the only one who wanted me dead.”</p><p>“Ashley Williams,” Tali supplied with a shiver. “She’s a little… prickly.”</p><p>“Is that what ‘xenophobic’ translates to in quarian?”</p><p>The helmet’s speaker crackled with Tali’s laughter. “Well, no, but I don’t think it’s just that. Kaidan said she was stationed on Eden Prime when…”</p><p>“When a lunatic turian and his army of killbots attacked, I get it.” Aleja sighed. “So, she mentioned a debrief?”</p><p>“Follow me.” Tali led the way to the door, but stopped and turned back. “I <em> am </em>glad you’re here, you know. Regardless of how we met.” There was a smile to her voice, even if Aleja couldn’t see it. Aleja watched her go, a sudden tightness in her chest. Then she took a deep breath and followed.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Apologies for any keeping up with the story - work really ramped up the last two weeks and I wasn't able to edit my chapters for posting. But everything's settled now, so the fic will be back to weekly updates.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The Mako hit another massive rock, and Aleja pressed a hand harder against her mouth, the contents of her stomach threatening to jettison themselves across the small space. The very real gravity pressing down on her from every angle was bad enough, but coupled with the jerky flailing of this six-wheeled hell machine, her insides were desperately trying to be outside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sat crammed between Williams and Tali on the bench in the passenger hold, strapped to the back with a harness around her chest. Urdnot Wrex, the red-plated battlemaster from the Lower Ward, filled the bench opposite them. His eyes narrowed, pupils thin. “If you’re gonna be sick, pick a different direction.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aleja glared at him. “Your sympathy is touching, Wrex.” The Mako lurched again, and she snapped her jaw shut. Saliva flooded her mouth, but she forced it back down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Perhaps we should slow down?” Tali asked. “This isn’t the smoothest ride in the galaxy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Any slower and we won’t make it over these ridges,” Kaidan called back from the driver’s seat. Vakarian, in the gunner’s chair, didn’t even bother looking up from the readouts. “Everything alright back there?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re fine,” Williams said. She placed a hand between Aleja’s shoulder blades and pushed down, forcing her to lean forward. “Head between your knees and stare at the floor. Take deep, even breaths.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aleja briefly considered a snarky reply, but she was too miserable. She followed Williams’ direction, bracing her elbows on her knees for support. The harness straps dug into her shoulders and chest, but that was a small price to pay for relief. Her stomach didn’t quite settle, but she no longer felt like this morning’s rations were trying to escape her esophagus. “Thank you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Williams grunted acknowledgement and sat back against the bench. Not exactly friendly, but compared to Aleja’s arrival a few days ago, it was downright civil.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Silence descended over the hold again, thick and tense, broken only by the thud of the Mako’s wheels and the occasional updates from its VI. This was why Aleja preferred working alone. Group dynamics were so rarely cohesive to begin with, and in one like this, with such diverse views, she was better off keeping her mouth shut.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“3 o’clock!” Vakarian barked, shattering the tension. The Mako jerked as Kaidan whipped the vehicle around. Above them, the Mako’s cannon thundered, vibrations ripping through the metal frame. Aleja gripped the edge of the bench and squeezed her eyes shut.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The cannon fired twice more, and Vakarian gave the console a victorious thump. “Target down. That’s the fourth Armature since the blockade, Commander.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just means we’re getting close,” Kaidan replied. The Mako resumed its steady, if not consistent, rhythm, and Aleja released her death-grip on the bench. Tali squeezed her hand comfortingly, and Aleja flashed her a grateful smile before turning her focus back to the floor. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Back in the cockpit, Kaidan lightly whacked Vakarian’s shoulder and pointed out the viewscreen. “See that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Vakarian squinted, then frowned. “Looks an awful lot like a choke point. The Mako won’t fit, and we’d have to move in single-file. It’d be safer to go around and come over the ridge.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Which would give Saren time to get ahead of us.” Kaidan shook his head. “Trap or not, we have to reach the ruins first. We’ll go in on foot.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Vakarian sighed. “As you say, Commander.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Mako slowed, then rolled to a stop, and the ramp at the back of the vehicle lowered. Aleja fumbled with her harness and bolted from the hold, dropping to her knees as she reached the rocky soil, her chest heaving in relieved gasps. The gravity was still oppressive, flattening her down toward the planet’s surface, but it was much more tolerable without the Mako’s herky-jerky tumbling. She dug her fingers into the rust-red soil, allowing its solidity to center her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aleja?” Tali touched her shoulder, knelt down next to her. “Are you alright?” Aleja nodded and waved away the concern, but she accepted Tali’s help to her feet. She took a deep breath of dry, brittle air and viewed their surroundings for the first time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Therum’s surface was sharp and savage, towering ridges and cliffs jutting up through the ground. In the distance, a pool of lava surged up out of the cracks in the earth, a heat shimmer in the air above it. Aleja shivered. Therum didn’t feel angry, but rather indifferent. The air was hot and thin in her lungs, but it was breathable - the planet had been terraformed, capable of life once, but now there was a sense of isolation, a feeling of cold oblivion that chilled her despite the heat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everyone okay?” Kaidan’s voice brought Aleja back to herself. He and Williams approached, Vakarian and Wrex trailing behind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine,” Aleja said, straightening, and dusted the dirt from her hands. She wouldn’t give Williams or Vakarian the satisfaction of seeing her further rattled. “So, who’s driving back? I vote Wrex.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wrex rolled his eyes and moved past without comment, Vakarian following. Williams faked a cough to cover a laugh at the aliens’ reactions, but Kaidan ignored her. He came to Aleja’s side, glancing sideways at his omnitool as he did, where hers and the rest of the team’s vitals were linked. “You sure you’re alright?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She shrugged. “Last time I stepped foot in a gravity well, I was planning the quickest way to wash out of basic. Can’t say I ever really got used to it.” Aleja looked to Tali. “What about you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve spent the last six months scouring planets for geth tech,” Tali admitted. The lights of her eyes flickered, and Aleja could almost see the sheepish smile under the helmet. “Sorry, but you’re on your own.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How comforting,” Aleja deadpanned, but she smiled to show she was only teasing. She shifted, uncomfortable in the armor Kaidan had requisitioned for her. It made her feel trapped, in more ways than one. “We gonna stand here worrying over the poor smuggler all day, or should we find your asari before Saren kills her?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her tone earned a glare from Williams, but Kaidan only nodded. “Ashley, you and Wrex stay with the Mako,” he instructed. “We’ve got no idea what’s up there, and I’ll feel a lot better about it if we have a quick getaway.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aye,” Williams agreed, but her disapproval was plain. Aleja wondered how much of it was being left behind versus being left behind with Wrex. Williams headed back to the Mako, the krogan lumbering in her wake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everybody else, let’s go.” Kaidan motioned for the rest to follow as he headed through the gap. Vakarian moved to shadow him, and Tali, after a moment’s pause, hurried after the turian. Aleja hesitated, watching them get further away, torn between following and refusing to go where the danger was. She cursed softly, pulled her new Kessler free of its holster, and moved to catch up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The path extended into a steep incline. Kaidan and Vakarian had no trouble navigating the rocky terrain, but Tali picked her way more carefully, and Aleja remained at the rear to catch the quarian in case she stumbled. She was grateful for the extra protection the armor offered, but light as it was, it was still a good bit heavier than her jacket and leathers. As the four crested the top of the path, Aleja felt a thin sheen of sweat forming beneath her under armour, and she squirmed in discomfort.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kaidan held out a hand, palm flat, and moved it down, as though pushing an unseen object toward the ground. He and Vakarian knelt in tandem, and after a moment’s awkward pause, Aleja and Tali mirrored them. Kaidan slid his handgun free and pointed over the low stone wall. “What do you see, Garrus?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Vakarian tugged his sniper rifle free of its magnetic housing along his back and crouched next to Kaidan, rising up just enough for the barrel and its sights to rest above the wall. “You want the good news first, or the bad?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s try to keep it optimistic.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I only count five units guarding the ruins.” Vakarian glanced back at Kaidan. “Pretty sure Dr. T’Soni’s in there, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kaidan frowned. “With only five units?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, hence the bad news: one’s an Armature.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aleja caught her blanch in the reflection of Tali’s helmet as the twin sparks behind the cloudy glass grew large. Kaidan’s joviality vanished. “How close is it to the ruins?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Posted up half a kilo, maybe less,” Vakarian reported. He lowered the rifle, resting the butt on the ground. “No offense, Alenko, but I don’t think the four of us have a chance against that thing. Maybe if Williams and Wrex joined us…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kaidan shook his head. “We need someone on the outside in case things go south.” He peeked over the low wall. “Which it’s increasingly looking like they will.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you suggest then?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let me think for a second.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aleja fidgeted, thumb sweeping circles over her armored wrist, then she touched Tali’s shoulder. “What do you think?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me?” Tali squeaked. Kaidan and Vakarian shifted to look at them, the latter bearing a one-sided scowl for Aleja. “I’ve never even left the Flotilla before now - I don’t know anything about strategy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you do know the geth, better than any of us,” Aleja said. She let warmth suffuse her voice, slipping into the cajoling confidante who convinced so many clients to use her services. “I’ve never even seen the things before today, but your people built them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thousands of years ago,” Tali protested, but there was a thoughtful undercurrent in her words. Aleja grinned. The girl just needed another little push. She schooled her face into wide-eyed earnestness and met Tali’s gaze through the opaque barrier, cementing the ruse with a gentle squeeze of the quarian’s shoulder. Shame rose like bile in her throat when Tali finally nodded, but she pushed it back down easily enough. She had, after all, more than enough practice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tali turned to Vakarian, eyes full of bright fire, and gestured to his rifle. “Can I see?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Vakarian’s eyes narrowed, but at Aleja, not Tali. She met them with a flat stare, and he looked away first. Disappointment bloomed in her chest, but she pushed it down with the shame. Vakarian shifted to the side, making room for Tali, and he handed her the rifle. “Stock to your shoulder, and keep your finger off the trigger.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>have </span>
  </em>
  <span>shot a gun before, Garrus.” Tali hauled the butt of the rifle to her shoulder and hefted the stock in both hands. Vakarian moved to help her, but he wilted when she turned her glare on him. She managed to balance the barrel on the stone wall and leaned forward to peer through the scope. “They have Hoppers.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aleja shifted closer, fingers brushing against Kaidan’s as she moved. Even through their armor, she felt a warm tingle rush along her arm. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Biotics</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she reasoned and pretended not to have noticed. “What’s a ‘Hopper?’”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Assassin variant,” Tali said. She patted Vakarian’s rifle. “They have laser sights. Literally.” She swiveled to the right, careful not to let the rifle scrape across the stone. “Two soldiers - the basic unit - and-” She swallowed, the noise distorted through her helmet’s speakers “- the Armature. Might as well be a Colossus without the Mako.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anything else?” Kaidan prompted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tali shifted the other direction. “Nothing that I - wait.” She leaned further forward, and Aleja caught the webbing at the back of her armor before Tali and the rifle tumbled over the ledge. “Thanks. There’s a terminal, just there.” She pointed, secondary finger and thumb curling into her palm. “If we can access that, I can get a better look at the programs on each platform.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Vakarian took the rifle from her and sighted down it. “Little close to their set-up for my liking, Commander, but it’s your call.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kaidan chewed at the corner of his bottom lip, the first real sign of nervousness Aleja had seen from him. Not that she blamed him - no one but the quarians had ever faced the geth, mobile armed artificial intelligences, and now the galaxy seemed to be crawling with them. She scooted closer to the ledge, between Tali and Kaidan, and squinted down into the valley.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The ruins of a mining outpost dotted the ground beneath, weathered from long years of abandonment in Therum’s unforgiving climate. A mining tunnel had been erected near the outward-facing edge of a large outcropping, the modern material eerily juxtaposed against the rocks’ ancient facade. The tunnel’s circular door was sealed tight.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Several meters back from the ruins, the Armature’s bulk lumbered across the rocky terrain. From this distance, it seemed like a toy, barely as large as Aleja’s palm. Its white shell gleamed under Therum’s harsh sun, the four legs propelling it over the soil. Nearby, but well out of the behemoth’s way, Aleja could make out two smaller bipedal geth. She couldn’t see the so-called “Hoppers,” but from Tali’s description, that was likely on purpose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need any advantage we can get.” Aleja started as Kaidan spoke, too engrossed in her recon. Old habits, but they’d kept her alive this long. “I think it’s worth the risk.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I agree,” Tali said, nodding. “We need more information before we engage. </span>
  <em>
    <span>If </span>
  </em>
  <span>we engage.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Vakarian swung his rifle back into place between his shoulders. “I still think we should bring the Mako over the far ridge.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kaidan turned to Aleja, sheepish smile at the ready. “Well?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She blinked. “‘Well’ what?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You get a say, too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aleja hesitated, glanced back at the ruins. Faintly, she heard the soft thunder of the Armature’s footsteps. “We don’t have a choice. The geth are here - Saren can’t be far behind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shocking,” Vakarian grumbled under his breath, but he had already turned away when she glanced at him. The attitude puzzled her - did he really think she was agreeing with Kaidan to </span>
  <em>
    <span>spite </span>
  </em>
  <span>him? Her annoyance won out over the confusion. Let Vakarian pout - they had bigger problems.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kaidan led the way down the slope, with Vakarian and Tali following, and Aleja once again bringing up the rear. It was slow going - the four of them shuffled forward, crouched low amid the rocks. Even doubled over, Vakarian stuck out like a sore thumb, his turian height putting him a good half foot above the others. Aleja divided her attention between following Tali’s footsteps and the Armature’s movements, but it continued its seemingly aimless meandering in front of the ruins.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They reach the terminal unnoticed, crowding together behind it. The terminal stood out against the rust-red rocks, made of the same white polymer as the geth themselves and about half as tall as Aleja. A small port was inset about a third of the way down the frame, but the terminal was otherwise unmarked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where’s the screen?” Vakarian asked. He tapped the pale expanse, but it didn’t respond.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aleja lifted a hand to cover her smirk. “Why would the geth need a screen?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They communicate electronically,” Tali explained, stalling Vakarian’s retort. Her omnitool flickered to life as she connected with the terminal. “Keep an eye on the geth. I’ll do my best not to trip any defenses, but they’ve evolved a lot since they drove us out. They may have tricks I don’t recognize.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kaidan gestured, and he and Vakarian slid around the other side of the terminal. A shimmering blue veneer of biotic energy outlined him against the soil, but the geth were still too far away to notice. Aleja pulled her gaze away and shuffled closer to Tali, an audible gasp escaping her when she peeked over the quarian’s shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lines of code, incomprehensible flowing script, scrolled across the display of Tali’s omnitool. It had some resemblance to modern quarian writing, the same elegant lines and delicate flourishes, but there was something synthetic about it as well, a symmetry that was too perfect to be natural. As Aleja watched, the lines flickered and shifted, some strands rewriting themselves entirely. “It’s beautiful.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tali glanced sidelong at her, the lights of her eyes warping with the curve of her frown. “Aleja?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s like it’s alive,” Aleja murmured. Her fingers itched with the urge to connect her own omnitool and dive into the amber hologram sea, but common sense and Tali’s concern won out. Aleja shook her head and sat back on her haunches. “I guess, in a way, it is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s an </span>
  <em>
    <span>approximation </span>
  </em>
  <span>of life.” There was a firm edge to Tali’s voice. “They’re still machines - synthetic tools gone rogue.” The venom in her words startled Aleja. It didn't align with the kind and determined girl she’d fought with in the Wards. Tali gave herself a little shake and returned to the readout. “Not much in the way of defenses. Some basic alarms and proximity alerts, but those are easy enough to avoid, if you know what you’re doing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think we can assume Saren doesn’t know you’re with us yet,” Kaidan said, over his shoulder. “Wish we could hold onto that advantage.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not seeing any other platforms in the area,” Tali said, scrolling down the display. Aleja was impressed at how quickly she parsed the geth code - to her, it was gibberish. Beautiful gibberish worthy of a museum, but still incomprehensible. “Although, that’s not much of a positive. I’m reading at least two thousand programs on each of the smaller units, and twice that on the Armature. Saren definitely didn’t want this place unguarded.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s the difference?” Vakarian asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Platforms are the physical bodies - what the geth use to move and fight. They can have multiple programs on them, each one controlling a different function.” The lights behind Tali’s faceplate narrowed. “And the more gathered in one place, the smarter they all become.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like interconnected terminals.” The realization almost physically knocked Aleja back. “They all benefit from each other’s processing power. That’s ingenious.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was foolish,” Tali said, voice sharp. “My people should have foreseen what would happen. Convenience always has a price.” She sighed. “Look, we can continue this history lesson later. I might be able to hack the smaller platforms, but there’s nothing I can do to the Armature. Too many programs, and they’ll take notice a lot faster.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you reprogram the smaller units to attack the Armature?” Kaidan asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tali shook her head. “Not all of them, and eventually they’ll rewrite their programming to lock me out as the rest catch on. Or the Armature will turn them into scrap.” She tapped a thoughtful finger against the side of her helmet. “I could order them to leave the area, but I’m afraid that would make the Armature suspicious.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m guessing shutting them down is out of the question,” Vakarian said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If we could do that, we’d still have Rannoch.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aleja tuned out their soft chatter and watched the Armature’s movements in the distance. This close, the thing’s mass was much more apparent; it was easily the size of the Mako, from its cyclopean photoreceptor to its bulky abdomen. It traveled the same path across the earth in front of the ruins, spinning in a clumsy circle when it reached the furthest boundary and returning the way it’d come. “Tali, how well can the Armature see?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tali tipped her head to the side. “As well as any other geth.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll rephrase: how well is it </span>
  <em>
    <span>programmed </span>
  </em>
  <span>to see?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her eyes brightened as she caught on. “It would probably have trouble seeing us unless we were underfoot, if we avoid the smaller geth.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aleja shifted her attention to the soldier geth, vaguely white humanoid shapes against the red dust. Still no sign of the Hoppers. “Can you alter their visual input? Put it on a loop.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like a security camera!” Tali chirped, and Aleja couldn’t suppress a smile. The girl’s enthusiasm was infectious. “I think so. As long as we don’t get too close or draw attention to ourselves, it’ll take them a while to find the hack. We’d have to move fast, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See? I knew it was a good idea to bring her along,” Kaidan said, grinning when Vakarian rolled his eyes. “That sounds like as good a plan as any. Whenever you’re ready, Tali.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.” Tali took a deep breath, then she tore into the geth code, replacing elaborate sequences with new and different configurations. Aleja watched, mesmerized. There was an elegance to it, a precision as delicate as any surgeon. Tali’s hand danced over her omnitool’s keyboard, more graceful with three fingers than Aleja had ever been with five. She edited a final sequence and closed her omnitool. “That should do it. I don’t know how long it will hold, though; the programs will update and overwrite my alterations.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Quick and quiet, then,” Kaidan said, and with a gesture, he led them toward the ruins. They swung wide around the scattered columns of the outpost between the terminal and the mining tunnel, where the soldiers patrolled in a clockwise route, their pace slower than Aleja liked to avoid the Armature’s attention.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ahead of her, Kaidan and Vakarian plowed across the uneven terrain, but Tali followed more slowly, footing still unsure. As Aleja watched, the quarian stepped over a jagged rock and right onto a crumbling shelf. Aleja darted forward and pulled her back to solid ground, but the shelf fragmented, pieces tumbling down the slope. A sharp electronic buzz drew Aleja’s gaze up the side of the nearest column, and she froze.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Two-thirds of the way up the pillar, a geth crouched, gargoyle-like, against the deteriorating metal. Like the soldiers, it vaguely resembled a quarian in shape, with its slender frame and the way its shell curved around the blue-white photoreceptor, but this one sported long spindly limbs and webbed, almost amphibious hands. Unlike the smooth shell of the soldiers and the Armature, this one’s frame rippled with synthetic muscle. Its head turned, the movement unnaturally fluid, from the chunks of rock to the ridge where Aleja crouched with Tali, its sensors lingering over them. Triggered by her racing pulse, Aleja’s visor activated and snapped across her eyes, relaying the geth’s measurements, weight, and other less than useful information. From the corner of her eye, she saw Vakarian reach for his sniper rifle before Kaidan stopped him. Tali shook in her grasp, hands clutching Aleja’s arm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After what felt like an eternity, the Hopper turned away and scuttled around the side of the column before leaping to the next and disappearing behind it. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Chingado</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Aleja breathed. She guided Tali back over the ridge and gave her a gentle push toward Vakarian. Kaidan waited until they regrouped before resuming the march to the ruins, though at a slower pace than before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The ground shook beneath their feet as they approached the mining tunnel, the Armature’s bulk swinging away from them. It continued on without pause, and they made it to the tunnel without notice. Unsurprisingly, the door was securely locked, but Aleja’s mods made quick work of the defenses. Once inside, she let out a heavy sigh and sagged against the tunnel wall. “I know it was my idea, but I can’t believe that worked.” Aleja lightly cuffed Tali’s shoulder. “Good work, kid.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tali didn’t balk at the epithet this time, and her eyes glowed with the praise. Kaidan nodded, allowing himself a small grin. “She’s right, Tali. Nice job.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was a good plan,” Vakarian said, sounding like he was being forced to say the words at gunpoint. Aleja’s head snapped up, but he was turned away from her, focused on his rifle. “We need to keep moving, Commander. We still need to get past them again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right. Let’s move.” Kaidan led the way down into the mining tunnel, Vakarian at his heels and still studiously avoiding Aleja’s gaze. She motioned Tali after the men, perturbed by Vakarian’s praise, begrudgingly delivered though it was. In all their years together, he’d never had a kind word for her, but now they were on the same team, he doled out a compliment? She didn’t trust it - there must be more to it than simple praise. Aleja shook herself and moved down the tunnel after the others.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a few meters, the steel polymer of the mining tunnel gave way to aged stone, and the space opened up into a wide cavern, installations of catwalks lining the edges. Several service lifts, primitive mechanical affairs, connected the different levels. At the far end, Aleja could just make out the carved stone transitioning into the sterile white material that marked Prothean structures. Aleja was positive a history or chem class had covered its make-up, but she couldn’t be assed to remember. The Protheans were gone - only skeletons remained. She strained to listen, but the only sound was the soft echo of their footsteps rebounding off the walls.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Looks pretty empty,” Vakarian murmured. His words, though softly spoken, bounced back at them in a distorted growl. When he spoke again, it was even quieter. “Not sure we’ll find anything good down here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s avoid making any assumptions,” Kaidan said. He made his way across the catwalk to the first elevator, the others following. Aleja hesitated at the edge of the left, casting a nervous glance at the sparse cabling, but she forced herself aboard. The cage shook a little as it descended, but was otherwise stable.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They exited to the second level catwalks, and Aleja squinted down at the far end of the cavern. She caught Kaidan’s shoulder and pulled him to a stop. “Do you see that?” A faint blue glow outlined the edges of the remaining sterile sections of the Prothean structure.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kaidan frowned. “Defenses, maybe?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe. Could be problematic if it’s not our tech.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded. “Good catch. Anything else you can tell?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aleja shook her head, blinking her visor through the available spectrums again for good measure. “Seems like it’s benign - just meant to keep intruders out - but I can’t say for sure.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess we won’t be sticking our fingers in it,” Vakarian said, snide again. Aleja ignored him. Let him swing his emotional pendulum as much as he wanted; she wasn’t getting on the ride. Her silence seemed to frustrate him, and he turned away again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aleja saw Kaidan’s shoulders stiffen, but he kept the annoyance from his voice. “We’ll treat it with caution. Come on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They made their way to the next lift, and Tali leaned over the railing. “We have a problem.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aleja craned her neck and blinked her visor into a low-light setting. A section of the catwalk on the next section had crumpled, the metal scorched and warped. “Could be worse. Drop doesn’t look too far.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tali shook her head. “I’m more worried about what did it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kaidan gestured, and Aleja gently directed Tali back toward the second lift. The cage slid down to the next level and came to an abrupt, jarring halt that Aleja felt in her teeth. The group disembarked, and Vakarian took the lead, rifle drawn. The gridwork creaked, then groaned under his weight, and a dangerous wobble accompanied his steps. Blue outlined Kaidan and he held out a hand. Biotic energy enveloped Vakarian, and he slid back toward them before the catwalk could give way. “Let’s try something else. Aleja?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Vakarian said, tone sharp. “I don’t trust her to give us honest recon. That glow </span>
  <em>
    <span>could </span>
  </em>
  <span>be hostile, and she’ll walk us right into it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right,” Aleja replied, “And Williams and Wrex will just believe me when I say, ‘Oops, looks like the geth got ‘em.’” She rolled her eyes. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>¿Te has oído?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Vakarian glared at her, suspecting, if not understanding, the jibe.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I’ll </span>
  </em>
  <span>go,” Tali said, annoyance in the crackle of her helmet’s speakers. She pushed past Aleja and Vakarian before either could stop her and edged out onto the weakened portion of catwalk. Blue still lined Kaidan, his hand still outstretched, but he held off snatching her back. When the catwalk started to creak under her feet, Tali carefully lowered herself to the gridwork and slowly slid forward, her weight distributed enough to appease the fractured metal. She reached the edge and rolled forward until she was lying on her stomach. Keeping a tight grip on the last line of undamaged grid, Tali peered down into the gap.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a long moment of silence, then Tali levered herself up and looked back at them. In the gloom, the twin glimmers behind her helmet’s faceplate seemed alarmingly bright. “Commander… you’re going to want to see this.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I honestly didn't expect to put this on hiatus for so long, but after a bout of illness (not that one, thank goodness) and a massive overhaul of the chapters after 6 due to a change made in the sequel to this series, I'm happy to have this back up again. I'm hoping to get back to weekly updates, but it may take a few weeks due to a chaotic schedule. </p><p>If you've stuck with this despite the unplanned and unannounced down time, I thank you. It means more than you know.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Aleja scooted forward until her legs slid over the edge of broken gridwork, pausing to ensure the fractured metal didn’t object to her weight, and looked over the edge. Tali had found a few lamps with juice still in their cells, giving the room a bit more light to see by. A basic mining operation stretched out beneath her and back toward the entrance to the ruins, equipment and tech scattered in haphazard piles across the cavern floor - all of it hastily abandoned. It wasn’t clear if the crew had fled through the tunnels branching off from the main cavern, or if they’d escaped back out the ruin’s entrance. She didn't envy their luck in either case.</p><p>Of course, that all assumed there had been a crew and not a single individual. Aleja shifted her attention to the soft blue glow at the nearer end of the cavern. It filled the entrance to the sterile white inner section of the ruins, illuminating yet not reflecting. Beautiful… and impossible, just like all Prothean creations. The glow was a defense mechanism, a stasis field meant to separate the interior of the ruin from the outside threat - according to the woman trapped at its center, at least.</p><p>Dr. Liara T’Soni hung, suspended, above the inner section’s floor. Like all asari, she possessed an agelessness that was impossible to pin down outside of the species’ three life stages; her soft, round features and slender form put her squarely in the Maiden stage, the youngest of the three. Well, <em> relatively </em>youngest - anywhere from several decades to several centuries. She wore an outfit similar to Dr. Michel’s, though with green panels instead of red to indicate she belonged to the social sciences. Kaidan stood across from her at the edge of the field, their conversation loud enough for Aleja to hear their voices but not the words.</p><p>“Shepherd.” Aleja sighed and glanced back at Vakarian, her mouth a thin line. A stubborn <em> pendejo </em>to the end, he’d refused to go down until she did. “Get moving.” He gestured with his rifle; not quite pointing it at her, but letting the implication hang between them. Aleja lifted a hand and made a sign with her thumb and index finger in response; not the rudest turian hand sign she knew, but enough to get a reaction. She pushed off the catwalk before he could respond, a satisfyingly startled grunt following her to the ground.</p><p>Tali slid off her perch on a section of mining equipment and fell into step beside Aleja as she made her way up the cavern to Kaidan. The quarian glanced back at the warped catwalk. “You don’t want to watch him try to get down? Might be worth a chuckle.”</p><p>Aleja shook her head. “Wouldn’t be a very good show,” she said. “I’ve seen him stick the landing from higher.” A muffled thud came from behind them, and Tali turned back with a dissatisfied huff. Aleja shrugged, a grin at her lips despite her annoyance with Vakarian. She’d let him chase her across the Citadel for five years for a reason: he was good enough to make it a challenge and a thrill. That wouldn’t end just because he’d caught her, or because they were on the same side now.</p><p>Kaidan paused in his conversation with Dr. T’Soni as they approached. “Good to see everyone made it down in one piece.” His gaze was fixed above and behind Aleja, and she heard Vakarian’s conciliatory grunt from the same vicinity. Satisfied, Kaidan turned back to their captive audience and gestured toward the three of them with an inclusive wave. “Dr. T’Soni, the rest of your personal rescue party: Tali’Zorah vas Rayya, Alejandra Shepherd, and Garrus Vakarian. All, Doctor Liara T’Soni.”</p><p>“A pleasure, under other circumstances,” T’Soni said. Like most asari, her voice was soft and soothing to the ear, biologically designed to be appealing to the listener. Even with the strained, panicky undertones. A smattering of small dark markings peppered the skin above and below T’Soni’s eyes, the same pale blue as her skin, almost like human eyebrows and freckles. It gave the impression of wide-eyed concern, which Aleja couldn’t help but find adorable. She suspected the rest of the squad thought similarly, even though each of them likely perceived T’Soni’s appearance in different ways - an evolutionary quirk of the asari. “I would hesitate to label this a rescue just yet, Commander. Unless you plan to take the whole ruin with you.”</p><p>“Right,” Kaidan said, a hand coming up to rub the back of his neck. “So, here’s the snag: the field can only be shut off from inside that room.”</p><p>Aleja raised an eyebrow. “Oh, is that all?”</p><p>He gave her a Look and she subsided, gesturing for him to continue. “Dr. T’Soni isn’t sure if there’s another way in, but there is an elevator shaft at the back of the room. Stands to reason that we find a way into the shaft, we can get in and shut the field down.”</p><p>T’Soni nodded. Well, tried to, at least. The stasis field only allowed her the barest movement apart from speech. “Before my crew…” She trailed off, swallowed, started again. “Before my crew escaped, we were preparing to break the lower levels.”</p><p>Kaidan glanced back along the cavern. “Any of the equipment still operable?”</p><p>“I am not sure,” T’Soni admitted. “That wasn’t exactly my purview. I hired the crew based on a colleague’s recommendation; prior to our arrival, I had never worked with them.” She sobered and chewed on the inside of her lip. “I… I hope they survived.”</p><p>No one said anything to that - reassurance would be a blatant lie, and the realistic response didn’t need to be said. T’Soni’s lack of familiarity with her crew raised a few other red flags for Aleja, but she kept it to herself. </p><p>“Commander,” Vakarian’s mandibles flicked outward and contracted, then repeated the motion. “I know we’re on a time crunch, but we should consider the possibility that this is a trap.” He glanced up at T’Soni, mandibles flexing again. “She could be working with Benezia.”</p><p>“Benezia?!” T’Soni repeated, voice climbing a couple of octaves to what could be considered shrill for an asari. “What does my mother have to do with this?”</p><p>“‘Mother?’” Aleja glanced sideways at Kaidan. “Left that one off the briefing.” He winced, and from the corner of her eye she saw Vakarian smirk. Ouch. “Ah, just mine then.”</p><p>Kaidan’s hand went to the back of his neck again. “The mission was decided before I left for C-Sec, but that’s not an excuse. I should’ve - ”</p><p>“Does it matter?” Vakarian’s sarcasm was aggressive in his flanging tones. “What would you’ve contributed?” Decade old training exercises?”</p><p>Aleja opened her mouth, but Tali shoved her thin frame between them, eyes bright and narrow. “Knock it off, Garrus. She’s part of the team.”</p><p>“She’s a felon!”</p><p>“You’re just mad it took five years to catch her, and you only succeeded because she let you!”</p><p>“Enough,” Kaidan said, authority in the sharp emphasis. Vakarian bristled, mandibles stretched wide and rigid, but he held his tongue. Tali glared him down until he turned and stomped off a short distance away. Only then did she return to Aleja’s side. Kaidan sighed and glanced back up to T’Soni, who watched with wide eyes. “Apologies, Dr. T’Soni. We’re gonna get you out.” He faced Aleja and Tali again, but spoke loud enough to include Vakarian in the conversation. “Any ideas?”</p><p>Aleja looked up at T’Soni, or more specifically the field around her. Oblong in shape, it rested flush with the opening of the room, but it was more shallow than she’d first assumed. The soft blue glow extended only a few feet past the room’s threshold. “The field is contained to this level?” she asked.</p><p>“Yes, I believe so,” T’Soni said. She glanced to the side, straining to indicate the room behind her. “There is an elevator shaft at the rear of the level, but I wasn’t able to activate it before… well.” She tried to shrug, but the field held firm.</p><p>Aleja turned to scan the abandoned machinery. “Your crew bring a drill?”</p><p>“A mining laser, I think. I requested their equipment leave the least possible impact on any artifacts.”</p><p>“I can work with that,” Aleja said. She turned away and headed back toward the cavern entrance, Tali at her heels.</p><p>After a quick reassurance to T’Soni, Kaidan caught up with Aleja, Vakarian trailing behind. “What are you thinking?”</p><p>“Get access to a lower level and hope that lift is still operational.” Aleja gestured for Tali to search the equipment along the cavern’s left wall, and the quarian trotted away to comply. “If you’ve got a better idea…”</p><p>“No, sounds like a good plan, under the circumstances.”</p><p>Vakarian snorted. “If we can even get it to work.”</p><p>“Over here!” Tali called, a short distance ahead.</p><p>The three joined her near a long cylindrical piece of equipment, the barrel mounted on three tripods spaced out along its length. The tapered emitter was tilted down into the dirt, but Kaidan’s cursory examination revealed it to be unblocked. A portable terminal sat nearby, the screen dim but still lit from reserve power.</p><p>Aleja crouched in front of the terminal and connected her omnitool. Her visor snapped across her eyes again, rerouting the information from the dimmed screen. A logo flashed across the HUD, a stylistic combination of calligraphy and Japanese kanji, and she grinned.</p><p>Kaidan knelt next to her. “Good news?”</p><p>“Hosaka operating system,” Aleja explained. She selected a program of dubious legality and set it to work on the password protection. “Hosaka uses the same security on every product that runs their OS. This laser? Same oversights as a basic refrigeration unit.” Her omnitool announced the hack’s success with a soft chime, and her visor’s display updated with the laser’s control scheme. The barrel of the machine shuddered to life and lifted the emitter out of the dirt. “Congrats, Commander. Your very own mining laser.” She linked his omnitool with hers, sharing the laser’s controls.</p><p>Kaidan squinted at his omnitool’s interface, and Aleja made a mental note to suggest a visor for future missions. “What’s the emitter frequency set to?”</p><p>Aleja navigated through the settings until she found his answer. “Low power setting. Probably take at least a half-hour to get through the rubble.”</p><p>“We might not have that kind of time.”</p><p>“Easily remedied,” Aleja said. She dipped into the program’s code, stripping and editing sequences as she went. The laser began to hum as it warmed up, the barrel rattling lightly in its housing. A warning pulsed in the corner of her vision, something about safety standards and structural integrity, but she blinked it away. Hosaka’s programs were notorious alarmists. “Would you like to do the honors?”</p><p>Behind Kaidan, Vakarian rolled her eyes, but she ignored him. Kaidan’s grin was all the answer and reward she needed. “If you insist.” He hesitated, then glanced around, suddenly sheepish. “Maybe we should all take a step back first.”</p><hr/><p>Vakarian leaned over the smoking crater. “Think you probably could have juiced it just a little bit more, Shepherd. There’s still a patch that’s relatively scorch-free.”</p><p>Aleja flashed a syrupy smile. “Maybe Kaidan just needed a better target. Are you volunteering?”</p><p>“Back to your corners,” Kaidan said, an undercurrent of warning to his light tone. He pulled his Banshee assault rifle free and crouched at the edge of the hole. “Tali, you’re referee.”</p><p>Tali turned the brights of her eyes on Vakarian. “Hear that? I’m in charge.”</p><p>Vakarian rolled his eyes as Kaidan pushed off the edge of the crater and dropped through the hole. Aleja blinked her visor back to the low-light spectrum and crouched in the space Kaidan had vacated. Despite his irascibility, Vakarian knelt parallel to her to follow Kaidan’s progress as well.</p><p>With the rubbled cleared, the stark white of the ruin’s lower level caught the faint light, untouched by the mining laser’s beam. Kaidan’s footsteps echoed softly back through the opening as he vanished further down the corridor. He reappeared after a moment and waved the all-clear. “Found the elevator. Come on.”</p><p>Vakarian cut a sideways glance at Aleja, but she ignored him and dropped down into the gap. Kaidan offered her a hand to steady her as she straightened, and like his touch on her elbow back aboard the <em> Normandy </em>, the gesture was so genuine she couldn’t refuse. “Elevator’s at the back,” he said, pointing.</p><p>Aleja nodded and continued down the corridor, the thumps of Tali and Vakarian’s landings echoing behind her. Despite the poor lighting, there was a faint glow to the material of the corridor, a subtle glimmer like in the corridors of the Presidium on the Citadel. Her visor rattled off a stream of readings - temperature, mineral composition, radiation level - but as everything fell within acceptable parameters, she pushed them to the side. A problem for when or <em> if </em>any internal alarms went off.</p><p>The corridor opened up further in, ending in a long vertical shaft. A circular platform with a terminal encircled the base, the screen still lit with the faint green glow of emergency power. It bloomed into full brightness at Aleja’s touch, and a string of symbols paraded across the screen, unreadable, but familiar in shape. She’d seen that same script on the rare slow Citadel terminal before it was transmuted into English by the speedy arrival of a keeper. The words were indecipherable, but the patterns were familiar. Aleja tapped a few commands and the lights around the edges of the platform flickered to life, along with a confirmation request in gibberish on the terminal.</p><p>“Can you read that?” Awe suffused Tali’s question as she came to Aleja’s side. The twin gleams behind her faceplate winked as she squinted at the screen. “Is this even a language?”</p><p>“Prothean,” Kaidan said, from Aleja’s other side. “I assume, anyway.” He hesitated, giving her a sidelong glance. “You <em> can’t </em>read it, right?”</p><p>“Ever seen a defective terminal before a keeper gets to it? Same layout.” Aleja glanced around to make sure all of them, even Vakarian, were on the lift’s platform. “Hang on.” She touched the confirmation command, and the lift shuddered to life. Despite the presumed centuries of disuse, it rose smoothly, the platform gliding soundlessly along the shaft.</p><p>When the next level came into view, Aleja jabbed the screen again, and the platform glided to a stop. Down the corridor, the faint blue glow of T’Soni’s prison colored the entire space a similar hue. The asari was still unable to move in the field’s grasp, but her voice rose over her shoulder, full of barely restrained panic. “Commander Alenko?”</p><p>“Hang on, Doctor,” Kaidan called. “Can you walk us through shutting the field down?”</p><p>“The console to the left - ah, I mean my left. The panel closest to me controls the defenses.”</p><p>Kaidan nodded to Aleja, and she crossed to the console. It was less elegant than its Citadel counterparts, more squat and backlit with green. A small notebook lay open on the edge, full of cramped writing in the asari language. Aleja ran a hand over the pages, marveling as they crinkled under her fingers. When was the last time she’d even seen actual paper?</p><p>“Aleja?”</p><p>“Right, sorry.” Aleja tapped the panel’s screen, and the field released T’Soni to the floor with an audible thump. Aleja winced. “<em> Dios </em>, I didn’t - Are you alright?”</p><p>“I’m fine,” T’Soni said, brushing off Kaidan’s attempt to help her up. “I doubt there was a way to cushion the fall.” She stood and glanced around at each of them in turn, scrubbing her hands against the fabric of her uniform. “We… we should go before the geth find their way in. The elevator should take us to a surface exit. Provided it hasn’t caved in.”</p><p>Kaidan stepped back to allow her access and gestured at the rest of the group. “Double-time, guys.” He tapped the comm in his right ear. “Joker, put the <em> Normandy </em>on intercept. We’ve got Dr. T’Soni in hand.”</p><p>“Aye, Commander.” Aleja flinched at Joker’s response over the shared channel. Another reason she wasn’t wild about this “team” thing: no privacy. She pocketed the tiny notebook before joining the others on the lift.</p><p>At the terminal, T’Soni navigated through the commands with a speed that was impressive as it was terrifying.The platform hummed softly as it rose again, its speed perhaps a touch faster than before. T’Soni let out a deep sigh and leaned against the console, head hung low. “What is my mother involved in, Commander?”</p><p>Kaidan glanced from Tali to Vakarian before his gaze fell on Aleja, but she only gave him a raised eyebrow in return. T’Soni wasn’t the only one who wanted an answer. Kaidan exhaled his own heavy breath and called up a file on his omnitool.</p><p>A still image of an asari matriarch filled the amber screen. Though her skin and eyes were several shades darker than T’Soni’s, Aleja could see the resemblance in the curve of her cheek, the shape of her jaw, and the same eyebrow-esque markings on her brow. The matriarch’s eyes were hard, her mouth set in a rigid line. The image sent a chill down Aleja’s spine. She’d never seen such naked hate on an asari.</p><p>An audio file spun up alongside the image, the sound processed but clear. The voice was turian, rougher than Vakarian’s, but there was something <em> wrong </em> about it, a layer of artificial buzz that had nothing to do with file compression. Aleja shivered. “ <em> Eden Prime was a major victory. The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit. </em>”</p><p>A new voice followed the first, rich, with smooth asari tones. “<em> And one step closer to the return of the Reapers </em>.”</p><p>T’Soni paled at the matriarch’s voice, and Aleja saw a familiar hurt  in her eyes; she’d seen it often in the mirror after fights with Marisol. Her heart went out to the asari. “You had no idea.”</p><p>The asari nodded. “We haven’t spoken in years. Our relationship is… <em> fraught </em> at best.” She pointed at Kaidan’s omnitool. “The turian, who is he? What did he mean ‘Eden Prime was a victory?’”</p><p>“Saren Arterius,” Kaidan supplied. “A Spectre, or at least he was. He attacked our colony a few weeks ago to obtain information about a Prothean artifact, and he decided to bring the geth along.”</p><p>“A <em> Prothean </em>artifact?” T’Soni repeated, perking up despite the shock of hearing Benezia’s voice. “What sort of artifact? Writings, weapons? Another outpost?”</p><p>“We’ll debrief once we’re aboard the <em> Normandy </em>,” Kaidan said, suddenly cagey. Aleja glanced sideways at him, but he avoided her gaze. “Saren sent the geth to find you, Dr. T’Soni. I don’t know if he wants you dead or on his side.” He paused, “Or if Benezia is even aware you’re in danger. I’m sorry we don’t have more answers. We were actually hoping you might have some for us.”</p><p>“Then we are unfortunately of a similar mind, Commander.” The excitement that had crept into T’Soni’s voice faded, replaced with weariness. “I don’t know what Benezia might be thinking. She’s always been a vocal advocate for asari influence, but attacking a human colony?” She shook her head. “That’s not my mother.”</p><p>“Counciler Tevos said the same,” Vakarian offered, and Aleja detected an apologetic note in his voice. T’Soni appeared to hear it, too, and she returned the unspoken apology with a gracious nod.</p><p>The lift slowed, then slid to a stop as it approached the top of the shaft. Therum had a stronger hold here, rust-red rock covering the sterile ruins in large swaths. A rough-hewn tunnel stretched away from the lift, curving upward toward its far end.</p><p>“The tunnel was cut when Therum was still a mining planet,” T’Soni said, pointing. “It comes out on the other side of the ridge behind the mining tunnel, so we - ”</p><p>A sharp electronic chitter echoed down the tunnel, silencing T’Soni mid-sentence. A cold spike of fear plunged through Aleja’s gut, and her visor snapped into place. A single, large heat signature moved down the tunnel, resolving into a massive krogan, shotgun clutched in his claws. Two geth, the soldier variety, flanked him, both armed with strange assault rifles. Their cyclopic photoreceptors cut through the gloom, forcing Aleja to squint to make out their silhouettes. Her visor threw measurements and distances at her, but she blinked the information aside.</p><p>“Well, look what we have here,” the krogan rumbled. He grinned, mirthless, and the cold fear sank deeper in Aleja’s stomach. She took Tali’s wrist and pulled the quarian behind her, using the motion to let her hand rest near her Kessler. She heard Vakarian shift somewhere to her left, and she bent her knees a fraction, ready to duck and give him a clear line of sight.</p><p>The krogan waved toward T’Soni. “Relieved to see you in one piece, Doctor. Your mother will be, too.” He gestured with the shotgun, and Aleja marveled at the unpleasant sense of deja vu. “If you’ll just come with us - ”</p><p>T’Soni cut him off. “What does Saren want with me?” There was a hard edge to her soft tone, and Aleja blinked in surprise. She’d expected the archeologist to cower behind Kaidan and Vakarian, but T’Soni stood next to the former, back ramrod straight. She stared at the krogan and his geth entourage down, heedless of her unarmed state. “What has he done to my mother?”</p><p>The reptilian eyes narrowed, but the krogan didn’t seem surprised. “Lady Benezia is working with Saren willingly, and she hoped you would join her.” One of the geth chittered to the other, and the krogan gave it a sharp look. “We’ve been… <em> requested </em>to bring you to him, so let’s make this easy.” His emphasis left no mystery about his real meaning.</p><p>Aleja felt the subtle pull of Kaidan’s biotics, and a blue glow gradually outlined him. To her horror, an answering light limned the krogan. The geth took up their places on either side of the battlemaster, their rifles leveled at Kaidan and Vakarian. This close, Aleja could see the fibrous synthetic musculature beneath the alabaster shells, the way it flexed and stretched with their steps. It was eerie how closely their movements and form matched Tali’s, down to the inverted angle of their legs beneath the “knees,” but too smooth, too sure to quite pass. Then again, unlike the quarians, the geth didn’t need to fear suit ruptures.</p><p>The standoff continued, Kaidan and the battlemaster locked in a silent staredown. The air was practically electric, even with the presence of the emotionless geth, and Aleja heard her heart in her ears, her chest growing tighter with every second. Behind her, Tali murmured under her breath, too quiet for Aleja to make out the words; an unnerving waterfall of static. </p><p>And then T’Soni broke the tension.</p><p>The sasir threw out a hand toward one of the geth, and Aleja had a split second to see a biotic glow envelop it before the machine rocketed backward into the cavern wall with a crunch.</p><p>Everything after was a blur. The krogan bellowed, but Aleja was already moving. She ducked and stepped back into Tali, drawing her Kessler in the same movement. Vakarian’s rifle barked overhead as she backed Tali toward the rear wall of the cavern, putting as much distance between them and the battle as she could before pulling the quarian behind the cover of one of the lift’s supports. Aleja pressed close to the strut and peeked around the edge, Kessler gripped tight in slick fingers.</p><p>Kaidan and T’Soni, both lit with dark energy barriers, still stood shoulder-to-shoulder opposite the battlemaster. The geth T’Soni had flung across the cavern still lay in a heap, leaking a viscous white liquid, and the other had vanished. Vakarian’s rifle cracked again, the bullet deflecting off the krogan’s barrier, and the battlemaster’s attention shifted. He lifted a hand, and Vakarian shouted as the opposing biotics raised him into the air. Kaidan or T’Soni, Aleja couldn’t be sure as neither physically reacted, negated the krogan’s dark energy with their own, and Vakarian dropped back to the ground. He staggered backward before regaining his balance.</p><p>T’Soni reached upward and seized a chunk of rock with her biotics. It groaned, then gave way with a shower of rubbled, and she launched it at the battlemaster with barely a flick of her wrist. It  collided with his hump and sent him stumbling back, but his barrier held. The krogan snarled and his shotgun echoed his fury. Kaidan shouted, his words lost in the gun’s discharge, and he and T’Soni retreated, separating to either side of the cavern.</p><p>A round caromed off the strut near Aleja’s face, and she fell back against Tali, her ears ringing. Her visor screamed a warning, the bullet’s trajectory and her damaged shields plastered across the HUD. The graph tracked the shot across the cavern and behind another support strut. At least that was the missing geth found.</p><p>“Are you alright?!” Tali’s voice was close to Aleja’s ear, her helmet’s output volume raised against the din from firearms exchange. Aleja nodded, not trusting herself to speak without sounding terrified. She tapped Tali’s arm and gestured to her own omnitool. Once linked, she shared the trajectory, and the lights of the quarian’s eyes brightened. “Which of us is the bait?”</p><p>Aleja raised a reluctant hand and passed her Kessler to Tali. The quarian drew her own handgun and posted up against the strut’s opposite corner. Aleja took a deep breath, briefly wishing she was still handcuffed to an interrogation table, and poke her head around the strut. Kaidan and T’Soni traded biotic blasts and gunfire with the krogan, while Vakarian, protected by his own barrier now, kept pecking away at the battlemaster’s defenses. The crack of his rifle and the answering thunder from the krogan’s shotgun drowned out everything but the booming of Aleja’s heart. She fixed her gaze on the pillar marked in her visor and forced herself to wait.</p><p>The gunfire lulled for a second, and the geth popped out from behind the strut. It brought its rifle around, and Aleja tensed, ready to dart back into cover, but Tali struck first. She peppered the machine with a volley from both guns, striking it center mass and along one arm. The geth shrieked, a discordant electronic howl that set Aleja’s teeth on edge, and fell backward, colorless fluid fountaining from its chest. Aleja threw herself back behind the strut, heart hammering against her ribs. Tali crouched next to her and handed the Kessler back. Aleja accepted it with a nod. “Good shot.”</p><p>“Don’t sound so surprised,” Tali retorted, but the way the lights behind her faceplate crinkled belied her pleasure at the compliment.</p><p>Vakarian’s rifle barked a final time, and silence descended, almost as loud as the prior cacophony. Aleja waited several long moments before she leaned around the strut. Vakarian knelt near the rear wall of the cavern, rifle still clutched in front of him. His shoulders rose and fell as his chest heaved beneath his armor, but none of it showed on his face.</p><p>Kaidan and T’Soni stood near the center of the room again, both breathing heavily. Red-orange dust painted their skin and Kaidan’s armor; T’Soni’s uniform would probably never be clean again. A trail of blood, a rivulet of purple against her skin, ran down the side of her face from a cut above her eyebrow markings. The krogan’s body lay between them, a still, hulking mass against the sterile floor of the lift.</p><p>Aleja rose and holstered the Kessler before approaching Kaidan, Tali at her heels. She touched his shoulder, quickly withdrawing her hand when he started. “You alright?”</p><p>“Should probably be asking you that question,” Kaidan said, rueful, but the amusement didn’t reach his eyes. “How’s everyone else?”</p><p>“Fine,” Tali said, and Vakarian grunted his agreement as he joined them. T’Soni nodded, too winded to speak.</p><p>Aleja pressed a hand over her mouth and nose to block out the rock salt smell. “Well, uh, unless there’s anything else we need here…” She gestured toward the tunnel. “We should go.”</p><p>“Ah, right.” Kaidan slung his Banshee back into its holster over his shoulder. “Let’s move out, people.” He touched his comm. “Ashley, you’ve logged hours on a Mako, right?”</p><hr/><p>Aleja reclined into her chair, the material shifting to support her back and shoulders. Being back on the <em> Normandy </em>was already a relief; the cushy briefing room furniture was just a welcome bonus.</p><p>The six of them sat in a semi-circle; Tali, Williams, and Wrex to her left, Vakarian and T’Soni on her right. Only Kaidan stood, pacing in the center of the room. He still wore his armor, red dust striping his hair. He fixed T’Soni with a desperate stare. “You have no idea what the Conduit is?”</p><p>“I’m sorry, Commander,” T’Soni said, frustration evident. “I’ve come across mentions of the Conduit in some of my findings, but none of the writings have a clear description of what it is.” She sighed and leaned forward, elbows braced on her knees. “So much of Prothean culture has been lost… the Conduit could have been something highly central to their society, or it might have been something ceremonial, a tradition preserved on a whim. It’s impossible to know.”</p><p>“It’s important. It has something to do with the Reapers.”</p><p>T’Soni glanced up, eyes wide. “You seem very sure of that.”</p><p>Aleja raised a hand. “So, for those of us not up to speed, the Reapers are…?”</p><p>"An intelligent machine race.” Kaidan’s voice was soft, but the intensity of it sent chills through Aleja. “The Reapers wiped out the Protheans.”</p><p>T’Soni stood, the motion so swift her chair would have toppled if it weren’t bolted to the floor. “How do you know this? I’ve never heard of…” She trailed off, suddenly aware of the eyes on her. “I-I’m sorry.” She sat, wringing her hands in her lap. “It’s just… Commander, I have spent the last fifty years studying the very little left behind by the Protheans. This is my life’s work, and I have never found mention of these ‘Reapers.’” She paused, gaze unfocused. “Although… that would explain…”</p><p>“Explain what?” Wrex grunted.</p><p>“My theory is that the Protheans were not the oldest species in the galaxy,” T’Soni explained. “I’ve found evidence that there were many civilizations before the Protheans, all just as powerful and expansive, but when they reached a certain size, or perhaps a certain level of technology, they vanished. Wiped off the map as though they had never existed.” She looked down at her hands. “If what you say is true, Commander, I think I can guess what was responsible.”</p><p>Kaidan nodded and resumed his pacing. “From what I saw that’s a safe bet.”</p><p>Vakarian leaned forward, a rigidity to his frame that made Aleja nervous. She recognized the look: wariness, on the verge of anger. “Can we return to <em> how </em>you saw this, Commander?”</p><p>At the edge of her vision, Aleja saw Williams wince. But Kaidan nodded, as if the question was warranted. “The beacon on Eden Prime - ” He glanced at T’Soni “ - the artifact Saren came for… it was damaged, but somehow it.. ‘Implanted’ visions, or memories in my mind. It’s bits and pieces, but I know it’s a warning about the Reapers.”</p><p>“‘Visions?’” Aleja blurted before she could stop herself. Williams glared at her, and she wilted.</p><p>“I hate to agree with Shepherd - ” Vakarian began, pausing to level a glare at Tali when she scoffed “ - but can you be sure you saw what you think you did?”</p><p>“No, the Commander is right,” T’Soni said. “This beacon, it is tall, obelisk in shape?” She nodded when Kaidan confirmed the description. “I have never encountered a working specimen, but I believe they were meant as a form of communication, storing information that couldn’t be transmitted for easy access.” T’Soni gave Kaidan an appraising look. “They weren’t designed for use by anyone other than Protheans. You must have an impressive will, Commander.”</p><p>Kaidan ducked his head, but he looked more concerned with the comment than appreciative. He glanced up, gaze settling on the track of dried blood along T’Soni’s jaw. “The rest of this can wait until Dr. Chakwas checks you out. Ashley, can you take the doctor to medbay?”</p><p>“Sure thing, skipper,” Williams said, standing, but Aleja caught the irritation that flashed across her face. “This way, Doctor.”</p><p>Aleja stood and fished in her pocket. “Dr. T’Soni?” She held out the small notebook, its corners bent from the confines of her armor. “Though you might want this back.”</p><p>T’Soni took the book, fingers trembling, and clutched it like a lifeline. She looked up at Aleja, eyes shining. “Thank you.” Williams frowned at the display, but shook her head, touched T’Soni’s shoulder, and led her out of the briefing room.</p><p>“Let’s table this for another time,” Kaidan suggested. “Everyone: dismissed.” Wrex was out the door before Kaidan finished speaking, Vakarian trailing in his wake. Tali hesitated, waiting for Aleja, but she left at a gesture. Kaidan glanced up, growing as he realized Aleja lingered. “Something wrong?’</p><p>“You lied to me.” Aleja heard the barely restrained anger in her voice and willed it to stay there.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“You told me I had a choice.”</p><p>“You did.”</p><p>“How could I when I didn’t have all the information?” Kaidan raised an eyebrow at her tone, but Aleja ignored it. “You told me you were warned about Saren; you made it sound like… I don’t know, eyewitness accounts or something. A <em> tangible </em>warning. Not…”</p><p>“‘Not’ what?” There was a dangerous calm to Kaidan’s voice.</p><p>“Not this.”</p><p>“You heard T’Soni. The beacons were meant to transmit messages.”</p><p>Aleja threw up her arms. “From a society that died before we were even walking upright. Those messages were meant for other Protheans; you can’t even see the full picture.”</p><p>“I can see enough.” Kaidan took a step toward her, but Aleja backed away, hand held out in warning. “Aleja, if we don’t stop Saren - ”</p><p>“We will,” she interrupted, “but that’s all I’ve signed on for. Not an intergalactic crusade against some dead civilization’s boogeyman. When this is done, we’re done. I’ll go back to the Citadel, wait for my maybe-pardon, and you can do whatever this is.” She turned away, then back, eyes bright with anger. “And send Tali back to the Flotilla before you get her killed.”</p><p>This time she left without a backward glance.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If you like what you read, kudos/subs/bookmarks/comments are welcome and appreciated, but never expected or required. Concrit is also welcome, especially when it comes to the Spanish, as it's not a native language for me. </p><p>This is technically a complete work, and I’ll be publishing it weekly.</p><p>I hope you enjoyed, and thanks for reading!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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